Black Ace
by MaxWaylandGrey
Summary: There can't be any possible good on relationships based on lust, but Jace doesn't know better. AH/AU. Rated M. OOC.
1. Prologue

***All the characters from The Mortal Instruments belong to Cassandra Clare and her incredible mind. Nothing will ever be owned by the author of this story. ;)***

_Musical Preference:_

_Careless Whispers- George Michael_

* * *

><p><span>Prologue<span>

_Slap!_

The only sound you will hear will be of the contact of your open hand to his cheek and your racked sobs. You will look up with your tear filled eyes and meet his gaze. He stares down at you, pain in his eyes . . . But no! You know better! This is just one of his acts! And you thought he was different . . .

w.^.w

**TEN YEARS EARLIER**

"You look beautiful today, mom," She walked up to where her mother, Jocelyn, was fixing herself up to go celebrate her thirty-sixth birthday. She turned around smiling and Clary hugged her. "Happy birthday."

She kissed the crown of her daughter's head. "Thanks, sweetie." she laughed. "I feel so old next to you!"

"Whatever, mom!" She smiled. "I'm getting old too!"

"As well as more beautiful each day." Clary rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Are we ready to go, girls?" Valentine walked into the room. He looked at Clary through the mirror and smiled. She smiled back before his gaze turned to Jocelyn. His eyes widened—like they did every single time—and a slow smile began to form. Clary scowled playfully. She believed that her parents were too painfully lovely. It was almost disgusting!

"Yes, we are." Jocelyn smiled walking towards Valentine and then kissing him.

"Ugh, dad. Wait until Clary and I leave at least, yeah?" Jonathan's voice sounded from behind the couple, always breaking the moment.

He came up with wide eyes towards Clary and took her arm escorting her towards the front door. She was laughing the whole way out. He took a look at her and burst out laughing as well.

"You would think that after sixteen years they would stop being a bit disgusting." John shook his head with a smile grazing his mouth.

"Me too." She laughed. "They like messing with grandma!" That brought out a fresh round of laughter from both the siblings. Their grandmother, Amelia Morgenstern, hated their mother. Still does, actually. They . . . Well, they appreciated her.

The Morgenstern family was going to have breakfast with Amelia and their grandfather, David. Jonathan and Clary were tagging along because they had invited them to the best burger place in the world: Almeir's.

Twenty minutes later, they were seated in Amelia's favorite table next to the window. They already knew she would be late, so they used the time to catch up, or just talk.

"Clary! You're fifteenth birthday is in two weeks!" Jocelyn proclaimed. Clary rolled her eyes. Everybody seems to think it was such a big deal when she just saw it as another birthday.

Valentine scowled. "Oh, Lord. You're grandmother is probably going to start talking about how you are 'coming of age'." Jonathan laughed.

"Well, she didn't do that with me last year," he said, to which Jocelyn rolled her eyes.

"For her, girls come to age at fifteen and boys at eighteen," she scoffed. "I'll never end up understanding your mother, Val."

Clary giggled as Jonathan frowned. "Is she implying something with that?"

Jocelyn glanced at her son with a smile. "She definitely is, John."

Just then, Amelia and David decided to make their appearance. "Jocelyn!" cried Amelia with faked enthusiasm. Jocelyn's back was facing Amelia, so her mother-in-law couldn't see the way she was looking at Clary. Her eyes were wide with fear as she stood up.

Clary was laughing with Jonathan as they saw Amelia hugging their mother with a big smile. David was looking over at the siblings with a smirk. Amelia's hate towards Jocelyn hadn't gone unnoticed by her husband.

"Ah, and my beautiful grandchildren!" She came to them and smacked her sticky and very red lips on their cheeks. Clary tried very hard to hide her disgust and discretely wiped it off. When she turned around, she could see Jonathan doing the same.

The beginning of the lunch was spent talking about, as predicted, Clary's birthday. Clary was sure to tune that conversation out, but then, after David had to leave for a business meeting, the conversation changed drastically.

Amelia's gossip voice came out. "Did you hear about Danielle?" Clary frowned. What had Uncle Luke's new wife done?

"No," replied Jocelyn curtly, drinking water quickly.

"Well, Valentine," she began, making sure to imply that she was talking to Valentine and not Jocelyn, "your brother is getting divorced." Valentine looked appalled but then he sighed.

"It was just a matter of time." Now it was Amelia's turn to look surprised.

"Pardon me?"

"You heard me, mother. This is Luke's fourth marriage and fifth child. Besides, you help him!" He said, looking pissed. Clary glanced over to her brother. He raised his eyebrow with a smile. He, obviously, couldn't wait to see the adults fighting.

"But Danielle has been getting more and more money out of your brother! Don't you see—" she began, but Valentine interrupted her.

"But I do see, mother. It was about time that Danielle found out about Luke's rendezvous meetings with Alexandra. And it looks even worse for you!" He took a sip from his water. Clary knew about this. In a way, she loved Uncle Luke, but the way he treated women was disgusting!

"I expect for you to explain yourself." She replied indifferently.

"Remember two months ago when you, father, and Luke went to London?" Amelia nodded. "Did Luke take Danielle? His _wife_?" Valentine made sure to emphasize the word.

"No, but you have to understand that it was for busin—"

"So he took Alexandra?" Valentine laughed mockingly. "Please, mother. My other brothers and you go have breakfast with her at the plaza as if she were part of the family. Clary and John know her!" That was not a lie. They had been introduced to her one day. Clary remembered because after she met her, she commented on how her head was so big she looked like a Bratz.

"Get to the point, Valentine." Amelia replied, obviously getting mad.

"Okay! I'll get to the point. You support Luke in his cheating ways." Amelia's eyes widened and her cheeks burned in contrast with her blonde hair. Clary knew her dad was right. It was one of the things Clary hated about Amelia.

"That is a lie!" She hissed.

"Okay, this is how it is. If I was cheating on Jocelyn—"

"That's different." She cut him off looking at her watch.

"How is it different? Because that is Luke and this is me?" he asked.

"No! You have a family and—"

"And Luke had one too. Actually, the question is how many does he have? How many kids? I don't even know because we haven't seen them since they were born! Now listen: Imagine I'm cheating on Jocelyn and you know who the girl is. You go have breakfast with her all the time and you act like if she was your daughter-in-law. Don't you see how wrong it is?" He demanded.

"I would kill you if you ever did that!" She said, her blue eyes sparkling with anger.

"But not Luke because he is the one with money and—"

"Shut up and listen because I haven't finished." Amelia snapped, losing her cool for mere seconds. "Alexandra was the one that told Danielle about their affair."

"Didn't see that one coming." murmured Valentine. Clary looked over at Jonathan who was grinning. Clary, unlike her brother, felt repulsed about the whole thing.

Amelia scowled, but continued as if he hadn't said anything. "And Danielle told me before she told your brother about the divorce. She said that she admired me a fair amount and wanted me to know the truth first. She said, 'Doctor Morgenstern, I have learned to respect you, but you know the way your son is. Like father like son, I always say.'" Amelia was grinning.

Valentine rolled his eyes. "Implying that father is cheating on you too." Clary shook her head. This was ridiculous. The way Amelia reacted . . . It was sickening.

"I need to go to the restroom, if you excuse me." She walked away from them without waiting for a reply.

She knew how wrong her family was. Her grandmother was a big fat liar! She changed everything to satisfy her. It was obnoxious. There were times were she would look like the warrior in shining armor and other were she would be the cunning rat sliding away from its problems. But she took the role of the rat more often.

Luke Morgenstern was the owner of his own company. He gave money to Amelia constantly, and it was obvious who, out of her four children was her favorite. His ex-wives had filled lawsuits to him for stupid reasons like, "He never loved me!" Usually, they lost. No evidence, or, Clary's favorite, "not a valid lawsuit, woman!"

Clary had imagined this being Luke's last affair. She wanted him to finally settle down and be happy. It was sickening what he did. Worst thing? The last time she had seen him, he was complaining about how both her women were asking for too much money. Of course, to keep them at the palm of his hand, he gave them whatever they wanted.

Alexandra, Luke's latest affair, knew he was married. She met the little two year old daughter. Did that stop her from seeing Luke? No. That kind of girl is what Clary liked to call a slut. A filthy and ugly bug slithering around, hunting for man with power. Clary knew that she would do anything to never be like that. She couldn't imagine herself hurting another girl...

w.^.w

Your fists will pound over and over against his perfectly toned chest. The chest that, days before, you were running your hands down. He won't do anything to restrain you; just look at you with broken eyes. For some reason, that just makes you angrier. How dare he look broken when he obviously isn't? Yelling incoherent thoughts, you back away.

"I knew you were trouble . . . I should've listened . . ." Your head will shake violently. His golden eyes will stare at the floor. For you, he will look vulnerable, but you know he is a great actor. It will just be another act. Another act . . .

Without another word, you turn on your heel and walk out the door. The tears won't stop. They never will. Although he broke your heart, you will still have hopes that he will come running after you. Tell you it was all a sick, cosmic joke . . .

But when all you will hear is your own steps and muffled sobs racking through your throat, you will realize the severity of the problem.

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><p><em>So, I've had this written down for a while. This idea has been bugging me a lot, and I decided: What the hell! Let's post it! :D<br>This is going to a AH/AU story. I don't plan on bringing Shadowhunters and the like into this. But I may bring the kids from TID into this. Maybe. ;) Most possibly.  
>Now, if you think this has potential, then go ahead and leave an amazing . . . <em>

_Review? :D_


	2. Chapter One

***All the characters from The Mortal Instruments belong to Cassandra Clare and her incredible mind. Nothing will ever be owned by the author of this story. ;)***

_Musical Preference:_

_What Goes Around- Justin Timberlake_

_Feel Good Inc.- We The Kings [I prefer this version. Original by Gorillaz.]_

* * *

><p><span>Chapter One<span>

She could see the dark red in her eyelids, telling her the sun was out. Her eyes didn't open, not yet. She moved her neck slowly. Her head was pounding badly but she still felt—in a way—happier than she had been in quite a while. All the stress from her daily routine was gone.

She stretched her arms over her head, slowly moving them to her sides. Suddenly, her hand came in contact with what she thought was the wall. She was going to welcome the coldness from it, when she noticed that it wasn't cold at all, but soft and warm. She took her hand back immediately as a moan escaped from her left side. Her eyes flew open instantly.

The first thing she noticed was the breeze hitting her exposed chest. She sat up which was a big mistake, because her head began pounding harder than before. She squeezed her eyes shut as she pulled the blanket over herself. After that, her eyes traveled to the bare, white walls of where she was. She furrowed her brows thinking how she had never been in there before. Her ears picked up a snort from beside her.

In the king-sized bed, there was a man. He was facing down, his back showing. Golden locks were strewn all over the pillow. They were curly and looked like they could be soft as silk. She had the sudden urge to run her hands over it, through it. His back was well built with perfectly toned shoulder blades. There was part of a tattoo showing on his right side, above his ribs. It looked like a big ball connected to something. She wondered if maybe it went to his chest. There was another one in his lower back, right were his hip was located. It had something written in what looked like Hebrew or Latin.

As her eyes traveled lower, she saw that he was naked. She gasped quietly as she realized that _she_ was naked as well . . .

"Oh, shit!" She heard herself exclaiming as she realized what had happened the night before. She covered her mouth with her hand as she heard another moan coming from beside her. She scolded herself internally for doing something so stupid.

She looked over her shoulder at the man in bed with her. She mentally congratulated herself for, at least, sleeping unintentionally with a good looking man.

Looking around the room, she spotted her dress and undergarments lying on the floor. She climbed out of the bed quietly, careful not to wake up her companion—who she had begun to call Golden Man. She planned on leaving as soon as possible. If Golden Man had been as drunk as her, maybe he would not remember if she was out of the place before he woke up. Let him think he went to sleep alone.

Making her way to a door, that she assumed would be the bathroom, she grabbed her clothes from the floor. She went in, and sure enough, it was a bathroom. Just as clean as the other room.

_So clean . . . How odd for a guy_, she thought.

Shrugging it off, she got dressed quickly and ran her fingers through her hair. Once she saw that there was no remedy to the nest in her hair she gave up. Looking at the mirror, she saw that it was a medical cabinet as well. Not being able to help her curiosity, she opened it carefully. She wanted to know who she had slept with exactly.

Tilting her head to the side, she began looking through the shelves—which were mostly empty. There was some stomach medicine, aftershave, and extra toothpaste. Nail clippers. Comb. And a box of condoms. Her mouth lifted in slight disgust at the last item. Looking at the size, her eyes widened and she closed the cabinet quickly.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Her eye makeup was slightly smudged. She opened the tap and threw water on her face. She felt refreshed instantly. Rubbing on her eyes, she started taking off her makeup. She dried her face on one of the—no surprise there—white towel.

_It's better if I start leaving_.

Peeking her head out, she noticed that Golden Man had rolled to the middle of the bed and was now on his back. She sucked in a breath as she saw the amazing chest the Golden Man had. Perfectly toned six-pack. She could see the rest of the tattoo's design now also. Her eyes widened when she realized that it was a jellyfish. She had the sudden need to run her fingers through each one of the jellyfish's ar—

"You're out. Why don't you get your little perfect ass over here and give me a massage?" A husky voice broke through her reverie. She was so startled that she could've squealed—which she didn't. His eyes were still closed and while his body was still relaxed, it wasn't as relaxed as when he was asleep.

She finally processed what she had heard. "Excuse me?" She frowned.

Golden Man opened one eye and looked at her. His eyes trailed the whole length of her clothed body and back up to her eyes. A smirk started forming on his—she realized—full lips.

_How can I not remember a night with someone like _him_?_ she thought lustfully.

"You were amazing last night, Ginger. Want a second round?" Although her whole body was yelling at her to get on that bed with the Golden Man, her stubborn and proud self made her stand her ground.

"No, thanks. I was just leaving, _Blondie._" She drawled, emphasizing the last word since she didn't like people calling her names by her hair color. Golden Man raised an eyebrow as his smirk turned to a grin.

"You're even more feisty than last night, _Ginger_." She realized that he was just calling her that to piss her off more. She fought the instinct to growl. "Now get over here. I need to be at the office by twelve." He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply.

She raised her eyebrows at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "No," she said leaning against the wall. She was hoping for a nonchalant, I-don't-give-a-fuck air.

Golden Man raised himself by his elbows and shook his head making his curls fall messily over his eyes. When he opened his eyes, she noticed that they were darker and blended in so well with his hair. If she wasn't posing as a badass, she would have bit her lip.

_He looks so goddamn delicious_, she thought unintentionally_. And to think I _did_ him!_

"Will you repeat that, babe. I think I was stunned by your sexy presence," he practically growled at her in what—she thought—sounded ear-gasmic.

"I said—" she began in a shaky voice. Clearing her throat, she continued, "I said that I don't want a '_second round'_. I had fun, and now I'm leaving." She smiled sweetly at him. "Thanks, _Blondie_." She winked and turned around to leave the room.

Smirking, she reached for the doorknob and began pulling the door open. She jumped as a large hand with long fingers pushed the door closed from behind her. "Now, why would you leave so soon, Clary?" He whispered in her ear, causing her to shiver at the contact between her cold skin and his warm breath.

_Fuck! That's all I needed. He fucking knows my name._

She felt Golden Man's arm going around her waist, pulling her quickly against him. She gasped. The warmth from his chest was radiating quickly to her back. Her cheeks flushed at the boldness of his actions.

His hand was still on the door as he whispered on her ear, "Didn't you enjoy my company yesterday? I enjoyed yours, baby. Quite a lot, actually. Now, if the problem is that you don't remember," he began trailing his lips against her jaw, "we could change that." Shivering in his hold, she fought for restrain in her body. It was becoming incredibly hard.

Letting out a shaky breath, she made up her mind. She turned around in his embrace and put her hands on his chest. She looked down and instantly closed her eyes at what she saw.

_Damn it. He's still naked,_ she thought. _The condom box wasn't lying, _she realized as an afterthought.

Opening her eyes, she came upon the eyes of the Golden Man. They were dark, almost brown. She couldn't help thinking how the cause of it was herself. She also realized that he was more than a head taller than her. She smirked and looked at his lips.

"Oh, Blondie. You know I'm nothing like those bimbos you go to sleep with all the time, right?" She asked in what she hoped was a seductive voice.

"No," came his husky response.

Supporting herself on his shoulders, she got on tiptoes and brought her mouth next to his ear. "Then I guess," she began. Moving her lips towards his, she felt the hand on her back bringing her closer still. "you know the problem is not remembering, but forgetting."

Getting away from his warm, naked body, she opened the door—since Golden Man had already taken his hand away—and slid out. But not before smiling and winking at his baffled expression.

Walking down the stairs of the building, she fanned her burning cheeks as a goofy grin spread across her face.

w.^.w

He watched, from his comfy CEO chair, as his secretary put on her bra and business shirt on. She kept bringing her hazel eyes up to his smiling or winking. He didn't even bother trying to reciprocate any of the actions. He was getting bored of this one . . . Rae? Was that her name? He shrugged. He could care less.

Sipping up her skirt, she turned to him flipping her dirty blonde hair. "Anything else I could help you with, Mr. Wayland?" Her voice was low and he couldn't help but notice that she trying to make it sound like that. His lip turned up in disgust.

"No, thank you. That would be all." She nodded and started walking towards the door. "Wait," he said remembering something. When he looked up, he saw her smiling at him with an eyebrow raised. He internally rolled his eyes. "You're fired, Rae."

He would have laughed at the girl's expression. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped. "What? Why? And it's Rachel."

Shrugging at her, he went back to looking at his computer. "Aline is suspecting. Besides," he picked up a folder from his desk, "This sale's report was badly done. I could have done it better. But that's the point of being the boss, Rae," he looked up at her. "You hire people to do the job for you." He shrugged again. "If you can't even do your job right then I don't need you here. Thank you for working at Wayland Corporative."

Rolling on his chair, he heard the door slamming shut.

_Sixteenth,_ he thought sourly, _and none of them know how to do their job._

He heard the door opening again and smiled to himself. "Finally!" Rolling around once again in his chair, he came upon his best friend.

Chuckling, he said, "You really hated her."

She rolled her green eyes at him as she took a seat in front of him. "Are you shitting me? She was annoying and thought everyone was below her." Flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder she slouched on the chair.

"They never last more than two months here, Camille. You know that. Did you see this sale's report?" She passed it to her. Looking over it, a smile began growing on her face.

"Wow . . . Not only annoying, but stupid as well? Why not put two plus two equals three for all she did here. This is basically last month's report with a few changes." She began putting her thick, straight hair on a bun. "Sometimes, I feel ashamed of being a female."

"You're so dramatic, Camille." He said with a smile as he checked his computer again. "The CEO from Tyson's hasn't responded to our offer," he grinned as he looked over at his friend. "You wouldn't mind using your '_charming skills',_ would you?" Camille groaned.

"No, Jace! I wouldn't mind using my '_charming skills_' with Matthew Tyson, but he retired and they put Asshole Verlac in his place." She huffed. "I hate that dude."

He smirked and stood up from his chair. Grabbing the handheld phone, he began walking towards Camille. "As do I, my friend. But sometimes you have to suck it up." He held the phone to her. She groaned one more time before snatching it away.

She began dialing. "I hate you so much, J—Hello!" her demeanor changed drastically as she spoke to the person on the other side of the phone line. "Yes, I'm calling from Wayland Corporative. I would like to speak with Mr. Verlac." She twirled around a stray hair from around her forehead as she waited. "Oh, really?" Jace noticed how she went for a sad tone, but since he had known her for a fair share of years, he could detect the sarcasm in her voice. "Well, please inform him that Camille Belcourt called. Thank you."

She hung up and immediately began celebrating. "Yes!"

"You'll still talk to him when he calls back." He said as he walked back to his seat.

Camille rolled her eyes. "So what? Gives me time to think of how I will approach the dumbass."

"Always the subtle, Cam." He said, smiling.

"Just like you've always like me," she replied and winking at him. "So . . ." she began, "How's Aline?" Jace sighed.

"The perfect housewife. Sex's still good, so I can't complain." Camille scowled.

"I don't want to know what you and your wife do, Jace. It's none of my business. As your Best Man all I have to do is be nice to her and have a say on the children's names." Jace scrunched up his nose.

"Kids . . . I don't think I'm mature enough for that yet." Camille laughed.

"I agree. You're twenty-six and you are already on your second marriage," she paused looking at his left hand. "Where's your ring?"

Jace looked at his hand. "Probably at the apartment." Camille raised an eyebrow.

"You slept at the apartment last night? Fight with Aline?" He shook his head.

"No. Went to a party this Bane dude hosted and . . ." He began smirking, remembering his morning. "Let's just say I had a little fun last night." Camille rolled her green eyes, and Jace was reminded of another pair of green eyes.

"You know I don't like it when you cheat on your wife, but I'm not blind. You've slept with all your secretaries. And who knows how many other girls out there." Jace smiled at Camille.

"She left me standing, Cam." That got Camille's attention as she sat up straight.

"W—what?" Jace smirked.

"Yeah. I mean, we had sex, but we were both drunk. This morning she just left me wanting more." Camille grinned.

"Well, this is certainly a first. Neither Kaelie nor Aline are like that. You just married them because of their '_skill'_," Camille said rolling her eyes.

"You know that's not true. I thought I actually loved Kaelie, but then she got cling—"

"Like all the others," Camille interrupted.

Jace shot her a look. "And I met Alin—"

"Who was your secretary," Camille interrupted again.

Jace rolled his eyes. "I do love her, Cam."

"Whatever." Camille waved her hand. "So what was this girl's name?"

"Clary. For some reason, I think she doesn't know my name."

Camille gasped mockingly. "Oh, my God! Someone doesn't know Jace Wayland's name? Call MTV!"

Jace rolled his eyes and looked at the clock. "Let's grab some lunch."

Camille stood up immediately. "I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

><p><em>So, chapter one! :D I'm so excited for this one. Yes, I added Camille because, well, she's amazing. And I love her. :D<br>This chapter is dedicated to three amazing girls. _BlondeHairBlueEyes14_ for just being awesome and threatening me constantly. _camibandlover_ for her help on some names . . . ;) And last, but not least, my ultramegafriend _07XReflectional_. I could get nothing done without her. Check these girls' stories out! :D _

_I hope this grabbed the interest of more of you wonderful readers. If you have ANY suggestion, or flame ;D, just . . ._

_Review? :D_


	3. Chapter Two

***All the characters from The Mortal Instruments belong to Cassandra Clare and her incredible mind. Nothing will ever be owned by the author of this story. ;)***

_Musical Preference:_

_Starstrukk- 3OH!3 (Featuring Katy Perry) _

_X & Y- Coldplay _

_Radioactive- Kings of Leon_

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Two<span>

"And then he kept talking sweet nothings in my ear, Clary!" began the dark-haired beauty from in front of her with a soft tone that changed immediately to angry. "I mean, I'm at a party, not fucking prom!" Clary looked over her coffee at her friend.

Clary shook her head at the woman complaining in front of her. With her height, curves, dark ebony hair, and deep-set dark eyes, Isabelle Lightwood was drop-dead gorgeous. And she knew it. She was also her best friend.

"I take it you were bored. You should've invited Simon. Also, why didn't you leave the man alone." Isabelle, who had been looking out the window, looked at her friend. She shrugged taking a sip of her coffee.

"I know I should've. Honestly? I think I was just being sympathetic. The guy was trying too hard." The redhead raised her eyebrows simultaneously.

"Since when does that ever bother you?" She asked carefully. Isabelle let out a long breath.

"Simon's fault, I bet. I guess I'm softening up . . ." she looked back at the people walking on the sidewalk, her eyes taking a faraway look. All too soon, her eyes came back to focus. "Anyways, how was that night for you?"

Instantly, Clary remembered the hot morning she had had the day before. She bit her lip as she felt a blush creeping onto her cheeks. "Uh, nothing . . ." she said while looking down at her coffee. She hoped the canopy of red curls had covered her blush.

Isabelle gasped audibly. "_Clary! _Y—you—oh my, Clary! Hot night?" she wriggled her eyebrows suggestively while Clary slapped her arm.

"Izzy!" Clary scolded. "Uh, I don't really rememb—"

"Clarissa Morgenstern . . . ? You got wasted? _At a party?_"

Clary's cheeks flushed immediately. "It was just a few drinks . . ." She let out a deep breath and fell back on her chair. "I was just trying to get away. From reality." Isabelle nodded not wanting Clary to remember the reason for her explanation.

"So . . . ? _Talk!_"

"I don't remember anything," said Clary and put her forehead on her hand. It still hurt quiet a bit. Isabelle nodded again, suddenly getting in business mode.

"Where did you wake up yesterday?" At that, Clary blushed again remembering the door and the feel of his body pressed against hers. His hand on her back, almost covering it whole. She heard Isabelle gasp.

"Who the hell did you sleep with?" Isabelle all but squealed.

"Shh!" she said and took another gulp of her dark coffee before responding. "I, well, a man?"

Isabelle gasped again. "_You don't know who it was!_" She sat back in her seat and swept her hair off her shoulder. "Damn. This is worse than I thought . . ."

Clary sighed. "I second that statement." Isabelle looked at her expectantly. Clary frowned. "What?"

"So . . . What was he like?"

Clary thought about that question—not that it was hard, but just remembering the Golden Man brought heat flooding up to her ears. With his hair, eyes, back, torso, abs . . . Down there . . .

"Well, he was blonde. Curly blonde. Tan skin. Great body. A good foot taller than me. And his eyes," she paused, thinking of the gold intensity she had seen, "they were ocher. Like honey."

When Clary looked up from her coffee, she saw Isabelle watching her with her head cocked. "Ocher eyes? Or, like, really light brown?"

Clary shook her head at her friend. "Those eyes could never be called brown."

Isabelle sighed, and Clary thought it sounded a bit defeated. "Tattoos?" Clary noticed that Isabelle was asking as if she already knew the answer. Clary narrowed her eyes.

"Yes. You know him," it wasn't a question.

Isabelle played with her earring as she began talking. "Clary," she paused and sighed, "Congrats. You slept with Jace Wayland." Clary's face was blank as she noticed that Isabelle had said that emotionless—without her usual excitement. She raised her eyebrows at Isabelle, waiting for an explanation.

"And . . .?"

"I really don't know him. I've heard the basics. Great job, gorgeous body, good sex. The three G's any woman looks for." She sighed. "Seems like you hit the jackpot." Clary pondered that a bit more. There was something that was in her brain and she just had to ask.

"His name is . . . Jace?"

Isabelle laughed. "Damn, you were drunk!"

w.^.w

"Jace!" He heard her, but he shrugged her off and began occupying his mind with useless thoughts.

_Circular motion_, he thought as he brushed his teeth.

"_Jace!_" he rolled his eyes. He never had thought her voice sounded so whinny before.

Suddenly, her figure was in vision of the bathroom mirror.

"Didn't you hear me?" she asked him scolding, but he could see the predatory gaze her eyes had as she passed them through his naked chest. They looked disappointed as they took in the towel wrapped around his waist. Jace smirked to himself and went to spit the toothpaste in his mouth before rinsing.

"Aline. Good morning to you too." He walked to the other side of the bathroom for a towel.

"Good morning. Now, will you come? A package came for you." Jace looked back at his wife. Her usual black straight hair was in ringlets that framed her face. Her brown eyes were marked with navy blue eyeliner and shadow. Her body was still covered in a coral knee-high robe. Jace always wondered why woman would prep up so early.

He raised an eyebrow. "Package? I didn't order anything. Did you?" She leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms.

"No. I always tell you before I order something." He walked back to the mirror and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Okay, then." He passed her by the door and went into his closet to look for a suit. "I'll go check it later."

"Fine," she replied and sat on the edge of the bed. He looked back at her with two suits in hand; khaki and dark blue.

"Are you doing anything today?" He asked her as she pointed to the blue suit. He nodded and put the khaki back in the closet.

"I was thinking of going out at around midday. What time will you be back from the office?" She laid back on her elbows and looked as he changed in front of her.

"Actually," he said while zipping his pants up, "I think Camille said something about accompanying her to an art exhibition." He shook his head at Aline.

"Camille . . . At an art exhibition?" She shrugged. "She's always been different."

Jace chuckled. "That's the nice way of saying." Aline went up to him as he finished putting his white dress shirt. She picked out a dark green tie and began tying it around his neck as he tucked his shirt in. Aline smiled up at him and patted him lightly in the chest as she finished.

"All ready." As Jace saw her smile, he was reminded that somewhere inside him, he loved the woman in front of him. He really did. Just how he had loved Kaelie.

_And look where that got her_, he thought sourly.

"I think I should be going," he told her as he put a piece of her hair behind her ear. She nodded and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Get out of here," she grinned and pushed him out of the room. He put his suit jacket on, grabbed the package, and started walking towards the front door of the condo. "Oh, and Jace?" He turned around with a raised eyebrow. She was leaning against the doorframe—similar to how she had looked in the bathroom—her face casted in shadows. "I love you."

Jace kept his face blank, void of emotion. He started walking backwards, keeping his eyes on her all the way, and right before closing the door, he called out, "Love you too."

w.^.w

"Wow," was the first word that came from Clary's mouth as she gaped at the painting in front of her.

"That is . . . Morbid," said Simon as he stood beside her. Clary grinned.

"And that's the thing. There is nothing showing death or blood or destruction. It's all in the colors, the strokes, even the form in which the yellow-slash-orange circle is covered by the green."

"The colors are too deep for my liking." Isabelle inputted as she grabbed Simon's hand.

"You mean muted," Clary muttered almost to herself as she continued to see the painting.

They were at an art exhibition that was sponsoring a few artists. Jocelyn Morgenstern had been given the opportunity of being one of those artists after she sold a painting to a Mrs. Graymark—who happened to be he host of the evening's art exhibition. At the moment, they were looking at a charcoal painting of dark colors; oranges, yellows, greens, and blues.

Clary took her eyes away from the painting and looked over at the couple who were her friends. Simon was wearing a dark gray suit and his brown hair was messily arranged. His glasses made him look—for a lack of better wording—interesting. Isabelle next to him, though, looked out of place. With her beautiful dark waves raining down on her tight burgundy dress, Isabelle was ready for a fashion show.

Isabelle had become a close friend of Clary's once she had started dating Simon, her best friend. Clary wished something like their relationship would happen to her. Their eyes always shone when they saw each other and they looked happy. She felt like a shadow of their spirit next to them.

At the moment, Isabelle was looking down as Simon whispered something in her ear. Clary could see the tips of Isabelle's mouth going upwards.

_God damn them and their adorableness,_ she thought.

Out loud, though, she said, "I feel like a third wheel now."

"That's what I told them," a deep voice responded. Clary whipped her head to her left to see someone she hadn't expected. "I don't think we are anymore, though."

"John," she said with a grin as she turned her head to the painting once again. "What do you think?"

"Let's see . . ." He paused for a few seconds and looked at the painting. "I think it's my favorite next to the one in the second aisle with abstract cute lines." Clary quirked her lips up a bit. "Though, I have to admit, this one is different. It looks like an old eye that is sprouting out grotesquely."

"Ah," Simon said, "So there is the morbidity." Clary rolled her eyes at her brother.

"Yeah, I'm definitely not getting the captions of my paintings from you anytime soon." He looked over at his smirking face. "Let's move on. You messed up the illusion of this one for me."

"Glad I was of any help to you, sister." They both laughed. Simon and Isabelle left to go see more abstract paintings while the siblings went to self portraits.

She looked at her brother while they walked. He was dressed for the occasion with a nice black suit. His light blonde hair was neatly cropped showing his sparkling dark eyes. She smiled to herself.

_He is the same person from nine months ago, Clary,_ she told herself. _Nothing changed._

"When did you get back?" she asked as they looked at the painting of a deformed woman.

_Well, if you twist your head this way . . . Never mind_, she thought.

"This morning. I wanted to surprise mom." Clary looked at her brother in surprise.

"Holy Lord . . . And where did that come from?" Jonathan smirked.

"I think I forgot some special date while I was out," he said.

"I believe so. What was it . . . Ah, Martin Luther King Jr.'s." Clary smiled sweetly. "Oh, also her birthday! My birthday! And mother's day!" Clary gasped mockingly. "And father's day." Clary shook her head as her brother scowled.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry. It's a whole other world over there, C. I couldn't just come and go as I wished, and you know that."

Clary sighed. "I know. Sorry. We just really missed you." John smiled and hugged his sister.

"Yeah, I also missed my favorite redhead—"

"Oh, John—" Suddenly, he let her go.

"—Ariana Grande! Did you know they don't pass Nickelodeon over there at India?" Clary raised her eyebrows.

"How old are you? Twenty-six? Oh . . . _no!_ You're sixteen again!" Clary giggled. "It's sort of pedophile-ish that you like Ariana Grande." John half smiled at her.

"It's not. She reminds me of you." Clary opened her mouth to respond to that when John put his finger under her chin and closed her mouth. "Later. I see mom." She followed his line of vision until it rested on—what looked like—the only other redhead in the room. "She doesn't look any older than you, C."

Clary glared at her brother. "Well, aren't you the charmer?"

He grinned at her. "Positively. Love you." He hugged her and right before leaving he whispered in her ear, "Happy Birthday."

He jogged to where Jocelyn was talking to a few people. Clary rolled her eyes at his retreating brother and went back to searching for the neck of the deformed woman.

w.^.w

"Now that we are here," he began as they walked inside, her hand nestled safely in the crook of his elbow, "will you tell me _why _we are here?"

Jace looked over at her friend. Her green eyes sparkled and danced as they took in the place before her. She licked her lips and looked up at him. She put her hand other hand on top of his arm.

"All in due time, Mr. Wayland," she said and begin pulling him inside the gallery. He rolled his eyes but went along with it. "Let's begin with the watercolors! I've always loved those."

"After you, Madame," he replied sarcastically. Camille grinned at him, her eyes rimmed with gold. Along with her eye shadow, she was wearing a low-cut gold dress that almost reached her knees. It molded to her curves perfectly, and by having her hair in a high chignon, she showed most of her back.

Jace, looking around, noticed that all eyes in the room where on her.

_Or the both of us,_ Jace thought with a smirk.

"Stop that," scolded Camille with a smile. "_They_ are looking at _me_." It sometimes scared Jace how easily she could read him. She shook her head as they walked. "You are too full of yourself."

"I know," he replied. He put a hand on her back and walked her over where he had already spotted the watercolor paintings.

"So," she tilted her head to the side, "I don't like it." Jace looked at her.

"Aren't we supposed to just look?" he asked.

"Oh, right!" She smiled at him. "I have an empty wall." He began to walk to the next painting.

"So, that's why you brought me here? You needed a painting? Why not go on the internet?" Camille gasped from behind him. He turned around to look at her. She looked offended.

"Jace Wayland," she began, scolding again. Jace almost laughed. "Don't you know that you just can't buy paintings on the internet?"

He lifted his arms up in the air. "What's so wrong about it again?" Camille narrowed her eyes at him before she shook her head and walked in front of him.

"Forget about it, Jace. Just help me look for something, will you?" Camille sounded annoyed. That may be one of the things that Jace loved about Camille. She never stood to his bullshit. Right at this moment, Jace had no idea on what he had done.

After going through the watercolors, Camille decided she didn't want one of those, and they moved onto the charcoals. ++ All the while, they had been silent but for a few words on thoughts about each painting.

Looking at a nasty eye with dark colors, Jace decided to get drinks for the two of them. Camille agreed and stayed watching the eye with her head cocked.

"Excuse me, ma'am," he touched the elbow of a sweet looking brunette. She smiled up at him and he smirked. "I was wondering where the drinks are at." Her blue eyes danced with excitement.

"Ah, yes," she bit her lip and her eyes moved towards the room. Grabbing his upper arm, she turned him around and, with a finger, pointed to a table with refreshments. "Right over there." He grinned down at her and she blushed.

"Thank you," he said, winked at her, and began walking towards the table.

He noticed that most of the people were around that area. There were a few cocktail tables with two or three people surrounding them. He walked up to the table and asked the bartender for water and a coke. Once he got the drinks, he turned around and started walking back to where he supposed Camille would be. ++

He turned from a corner on an aisle and saw her back. She was looking up at a simple charcoal painting. It had what looked like S's in different angles. But, as Jace looked closer, it had straight lines as well.

Suddenly, a burst of color brought his eyes back, and looking at what the color was made him stop dead in his tracks.

_Her,_ he thought.

She was wearing a dark purple dress. It left her shoulders bare with a heart-shaped front. It hugged her upper torso, and, around the waist, it fell lightly to rest inches above her knees. Her red hair was pin straight and ended close to the small of her back. Her eyes were surrounded by a fair green halo that made her eyes bigger; brighter.

He saw as she smiled politely at Camille and introduced herself. Camille, looking beyond delighted, greeted her. She smiled, and, at the same time, they both looked back at the painting. She was making hand movements while Camille talked to her. Jace could not hear them yet, just a soft murmur. As he got closer, Jace could hear them talking about some meaning in the painting.

He smirked as he got closer. Standing right behind them, and neither of the two women had noticed him.

"Straight, huh?" He said looking up at the painting. Feeling her eyes on him, he continued, "I liked it better curly." Finally, he looked down at her. Her cheeks were flushed and her green eyes looked surprised and—_was that regret?_ he asked himself.

Jace looked over at Camille, who had her eyes narrowed in question. He passed her the cup of water. That seemed to snap her out of her reverie. "What the hell are you talking about, Jace?" He noticed how Clary's eyes widened at the end of Camille's sentence.

"Her hair," he said and sipped out of his cup. She raised a hand to her hair subconsciously. Jace looked back at Camille who had an eyebrow raised.

"Wait a second," she said. Pushing Jace aside with a quick but firm, "Move," Camille began talking. "You know him?"

Clary looked from Camille to Jace. She bit her lip uncertainly. Suddenly, her eyes sparked up with something. She looked at Jace with a sweet smile. "Nope. Blondie and I don't know each other."

Jace's eyebrow rose at that. Camille was grinning.

"Wait," she said, again, "You're Clary," she said to her, and then to Jace she said, "_This_ Clary?"

When Jace looked back at Clary, he saw her with her head cocked and questioning eyes.

"I don't know about '_this _Clary'. All I know is that I am Clary." She pointed at Camille, "You are Camille Belcourt, or so I hope." And she pointed at Jace and crossed her arms, "And you are Jace Wayland."

_So she does know my name_, he thought.

"No 'or so I hope' for me?" Jace asked Clary with a half smile.

Clary's eyebrows rose as she looked at Camille. She burst out laughing.

"Oh, my! Clary, I knew I would like you!" Clary sighed.

"I'm still confused," she murmured almost to herself, but Jace and Camille heard her.

Camille laughed. "I'll explain later, yeah? In the meantime, do you know who painted this? I think I would love to buy it." Clary's eyes widened. She opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted.

"This? Isn't it too simple for your taste, Cam?" Both the green eyed ladies turned to look at him with disapproval written all over in their faces.

"It's for my olive wall. I can't have colors. And this," she pointed behind her, "Is _not_ simple." Camille turned to Clary. "So, do you know the artist?"

"I," she began and looked at Jace with challenge in her eyes, "Helped paint this. It is my mother's and mine." Jace grinned at her distressed face. She narrowed her eyes and looked back at Camille. "My mom does the deals so—"

"Clary!" They all heard. Clary wiped her head so fast, her hair floated for an instant.

Jace followed her line of vision to a blonde man and a tall woman with a sexy dark red dress. He could see the blonde man narrowing his eyes at him. Jace smirked.

"Clary, mom was looking for you," said the guy. Jace didn't miss that he had said "mom".

"Oh, okay. Uhm, John, Isabelle, this is Camille and Jace. Camille, Jace this is my brother, Jonathan and my friend Isabelle." They all shook hands. Jace noticed a strange exchange of eye glances between the dark haired girl—Isabelle—and Clary. "Do you know what mom needs me for?"

"No idea. She just told us to get you," said Isabelle dismissively.

"Okay, well, Camille wants to see if she can buy this one, so," Clary paused to look at Camille who nodded, "Come on."

As they walked, a guy with glasses tagged along and Isabelle grabbed his hand. Jonathan and Camille were conversing quietly. Clary was walking with purpose. Jace grinned and took a sip of his coke before moving to stand next to her.

"Forgot about me so soon, Ginger?" He saw her stiffen and he grinned. "I thought yesterday morning was memorable."

"I don't think so." She glanced up at him. "Was it memorable to you, _Blondie_?" She drawled the last word with a large amount of venom.

"Not at all, babe." He grinned as she looked up at him. He bent down to her ear and whispered one more time for emphasis. "Not at all."

* * *

><p><em>So, supposedly, I had this "pattern," so to speak. I would update Remembering Sunday, then Black Ace and then Remembering Sunday and so on. And I tried to do that. Unfortunately, my muse was on Black Ace. . So, I went ahead and wrote Black Ace. :D<br>Now, school starts next Monday for me, so my goal is to update Remembering Sunday then Black Ace before I go back. *sigh* _

_Special thanks to the same girls always. _BlondeHairBlueEyes14 _for threatening a spam attack. ;) _camibandlover _for having word wars with me! xDD And _07XReflectional _for reading one of the scenes and telling me I was being paranoid. :D Love you three!_

_Now, I'm going to be completely honest. The Jace/Aline scene has been my favorite scene of all time. I love it even more than any Remembering Sunday scene, and that's to say a lot._

_:D I'm sorry I haven't responded to any of the reviews, but I will. I had a bit of problem with my email account. BUT IT HAS BEEN FIXED. :D Expect replies if you..._

_Review? :D_


	4. Chapter Three

***All the characters from The Mortal Instruments belong to Cassandra Clare and her incredible mind. Nothing will ever be owned by the author of this story. ;)***

_Musical Preference:_

_If I Ever Feel Better- Phoenix_

_Post Modern Girls- The Strokes [Feat. Regina Spektor]_

_Dani California- Red Hot Chilli Peppers_

;) Enjoy.

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Three<span>

"Bane?" Jace asked in a commanding voice as he opened the door to the sale's representative's office. He was going personally since they hadn't hired a new secretary since he had fired the Rae girl.

Sitting behind a good looking old-fashioned desk was a man in a stylish violet suit. His hair was spiked to perfection and his green eyes were looking up at him under glasses. He stopped typing once he saw who it was and took off his glasses.

"Yes, Mr. Wayland?" he drawled in a bored tone. Jace's eyebrow rose. He walked to the center of the office.

"I filed a request for a new secretary a few days ago. I still don't see someone sitting outside my office answering my calls. Would you mind telling me what the problem is?" Magnus placed his glasses back on and began typing once again on his computer.

"Well, it seems there has been a shortage of efficient secretaries. I got an email a few hours ago on it. They said they would bring in an employee as soon as possible." Magnus stopped typing and looked back at his boss. "They _apologize_ for the inconvenience."

Jace detected something in his voice but didn't say anything. Mr. Bane was one of his few loyal employees who actually did his work right.

"Good," he began turning around to go back to his office when he remembered something. "Oh, and Ban—"

"Hey, Maggie!" Jace frowned as he turned around. Standing on the door was Camille. Her eyes widened when they saw him, but she quickly smiled. "Hey, Jace! I didn't know you were here." Jace was about to snort but reminded himself he was in front of an employee.

"Miss Belcourt." He nodded. Camille rolled her eyes while laughing.

"Oh, God! Now, _that _was precious! Did you get it Magnus?" Jace turned to look at Magnus as he shook his head with a smile.

"I was too impressed to do much, actually." He chuckled to himself and, from behind Jace, Camille joined in. Jace turned around completely to look at Camille. He rolled his eyes at her.

"Did you just come in?" he asked her. Camille nodded and held up her phone.

"I called your secretary to in—Oh, wait!" She grinned. "You ain't got a secretary!" She walked up to Jace with a smile before taking a seat on one of Magnus's chairs. Jace put one of his hands on the backrest of the chair.

"The difference between you and the others is that you actually have my phone number," he told her

"Not only me," she said while playing round with her phone. "Maggie has it too."

Jace frowned down at her before his eyes widened. He looked up at Magnus who was busy on his computer but Jace could see the suppressed smile on his lips.

"You gave _him,_" he gestured at him in a harsh whisper, "My phone number?" Camille looked up at him and smiled with a nod. Jace rolled his eyes.

"I hope," spoke up Magnus, "That it's not a problem, of course."

Jace began walking to the door, his earlier question completely forgotten. Opening the door, he turned around and looked Magnus square in the eye.

"Put that number to good use."

"Sir?" Jace turned back to Magnus who was looking at him questioningly. Camille was grinning at him.

"Call me when you throw another party."

w.^.w

"Miss?" Clary turned around. Big brown eyes were staring at her with a toothless smile. Clary smiled and kneeled down.

"Yes, sweetie?" she asked with a smile. The girl beamed and showed Clary the paper in her hands.

"I'm done with my drawing!" Clary nodded and took it from her. It was a tree with big red apples and flowers on a grassy plain. Clary grinned.

"Wow, Sophie! This is really good!" Sophie's smile widened.

"You think so, Miss?" Clary nodded. "It's the tree on my backyard."

"_In_ your backyard, you mean." Sophie nodded with a smile. "That's a huge tree! Do you eat the apples from there?" Sophie nodded again.

"Yes, ma'am. Mom picks them up and then cuts them up to make apple pie!" Clary beamed at the little girl.

"Mm, I bet it's very yummy, huh?" Sophie nodded. "Well, since you're done you can just go back to your desk and do whatever you like."

"Okay, Miss Fray!" Sophie turned around and skipped to her desk. Clary shook her head as she went back to grading some spelling tests.

The bell rang signaling the end of the day for the kids. Clary stood up from her desk and walked towards the door to open it. Parents were walking towards the room to pick up the kids. They smiled kindly at her. Smiling back she turned back to the class who was in a line with their backpacks.

"Ronnie, Kelsie, Adriana, and Rebecca. They're here for you all." Smiling, they went to the front and out the door to greet their parents.

In almost ten minutes, all of the class was gone but by three kids. One of them, the smallest one went up to Clary.

"Miss Fray?"

Clary looked down to see David. "Yes?"

"Where is that dark man that would stand on that corner," he pointed, "And smile when you looked at him?" He asked sweetly. Clary's eyes widened. She kneeled down.

"David," she began with a sigh, "I'm sorry to say he won't be coming anytime soon. You may never see him again. People come and go all the time."

David frowned. "Did he not want to be friends with you anymore?"

Clary laughed. "It was the other way around, actually."

David gasped. "But, Miss! That's not nice! Everyone should have friends!"

"Yes," she said, "But people are sometimes mean. And no one likes mean people, right?" David shook his head.

"No. I don't like mean people." Clary smiled at him.

"Exactly. But just because they are mean means that you can be mean to them, okay? You have to be the better person." David nodded and smiled.

"David?" Clary looked up to see David's mom in the doorway. Clary smiled at her and she did the same.

"Have a nice weekend, David," she told him. He began walking towards his mom. She took his hand and kissed his cheek. He wiped it off with disgust on his face. Clary grinned and got up to go sit with the two other girls who were left.

"Miss Fray?" Clary turned to see David on the doorway with a goofy grin. "Try making new friends!" With that, he took off running after his mom.

Clary tilted her head to the side as she stared at the place were David had just been. She felt a smile creep onto her mouth.

Sometimes, she learned more from them than them learning from her.

w.^.w

"Clarissa Morgenstern Fray," she said. He cracked a smile.

"Oh, fancy!" She laughed because she knew very well that it was true.

"Yes, I know. Yours?" She asked as she took a drink of her coke.

"Jordan Hugh Kyle," he said. Her eyes widened.

"Hugh?" He laughed and Clary liked the way his hazel eyes twinkled.

"Yup. Like the Hugh Hefner," he said with a shrug. Clary, though, started laughing.

"Playboy's Hugh Hefner?" She asked after recovering.

"The one and only." He grinned at her.

Simon and Isabelle had the great idea of fixing up a blind date for Clary with a friend of theirs. Clary hadn't been too fond of the idea when it was presented to her, but David's words made her _at least_ give it a try.

_Try making new friends!_

They still made her smile.

Besides, Jordan was looking to be a pretty decent guy. He hadn't done anything inappropriate. Yet. He was a piece of man, alright. Brown skin, longish black curls, tall, broad, and hazel eyes.

_Okay . . . So he is pretty hot, _she thought.

He smiled at her. "So tell me about yourself Clarissa."

"Oh, please," she smiled, "Call me Clary."

He nodded. "Will do." He motioned with his eyes for her to answer his question.

"Well," she began, "I'm a teacher at Polk Elementary, but am taking night school to master in art. My favorite color is red. I can't raise just a single eyebrow and I like raspberries." She smiled as he shook his head with a laugh. "You?"

"I am an architect at the moment. Excelled in design at high school. Favorite color is blue. I can make my tongue into a taco and I like bananas." Clary couldn't help it; she laughed.

"Let's just hope that sentence doesn't have double meaning," she told him quietly. His eyes widened and he howled in laughter.

"Oh—no!" And he started laughing again. Clary laughed along.

_His laugh is contagious_, she thought.

"Good!" She said.

Their food came to the table and they resumed the small talk.

"So what grade do you teach?" He asked her as he cut a piece of his steak.

"First. Honestly, I wanted Pre-K, but it seems they put all the new teachers in first grade." Jordan raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, really? Why Pre-K?"

"They idolize you more if you're nice to them. They're less trouble. But I'm not complaining. I have great kids. They're so small I wish I could put them in my pocket and take them home!"

Jordan laughed. "That didn't sound creepy at all." Clary grinned.

"Nope. It didn't." She told him. "So, architect? You must be really good at math, I suppose." He shrugged.

"Eh, I'm average, if you get me." Clary nodded.

"Yeah, I wasn—" Clary and Jordan both frowned as they heard the clatter of plates crashing to the floor followed closely after cursing. They turned to look at a waitress apologizing to someone on a booth. The person was hidden behind the tall upholstery. Clary recognized the voice, she just didn't know from where.

"—_ur fucking shoelaces untied or something? Can't you do your fuckin_—"

The girl flinched as the person—clearly a man by the voice—scolded, yelled, at the girl for her foolishness. Clary's lips tightened. The girl looked no older than eighteen and was, obviously, new at her job. Clary had been there and done that. She had gotten scolded plenty of times, and she knew how it felt. Suddenly—feeling very bold—she stood up, excusing herself from Jordan, and made her way to the booth.

w.^.w

_Ah, great_, he thought.

He glared up at the girl. She should've been more careful. Jace didn't know how she managed to trip, but she did. And what did that mean? It meant spaghetti and ice cream all over his suit. Jace didn't like it one bit.

With disgust clear on his face, he began cursing her. "What the _fuck_ is your problem? Are your _fucking_ shoelaces untied or something? Can't you do your _fucking job right_? Ah, _fuck!_" The girl looked bad and Jace knew why. Someone like him could get her fired just like that. And he would if he wanted to.

He started getting out of the booth, napkin in hand in order to take off the strands of flour off him. Standing up, the girl backed away, tears and fear in her eyes. He didn't care. All he cared about was the way his dress shirt was sticking to his skin.

"Do you see what you _did_?" He yelled at her. "I hope you ar—"

"I think that is _enough_!" A familiar female voice broke into his scolding. Just then did Jace notice how quiet the restaurant had gotten. He turned around to look at the woman behind him.

Her eyes widened and darkened instantly. As her mouth turned to a scowl, she crossed her arms over her chest. "I should've known."

He cocked his head with a smirk. "Well, this is quite interesting." She rolled her eyes and walked up to the girl who was still cowering under her tray.

"What the hell is your problem? She made one mistake and you blow up on her. Get off her case!" Clary put her arm around the girl, even when the girl was taller than her.

"Did you not see what she did?" Jace scowled at the girl. She flinched. Clary scoffed.

"Yes, as a matter of fact. I did. And you are being a complete _ass_ over it. It's just a shirt, you _idiot_." Anger overwhelmed Jace. He couldn't understand why it was so important for her to protect the other girl.

"I suggest you stop, _Ginger_." Clary barred her teeth and glared at him. She left the girl and started walking up to him until they were just inches apart.

"What are you going to do if I don't, _Blondie_, huh? Call daddy?" She taunted, narrowing her green eyes. Jace glared right back at her. Suddenly, Clary wasn't on his face anymore.

"Guys, let's cool out, yeah?" Jace saw a guy about his own stature with hazel eyes grabbing Clary by the shoulders.

"Yeah, Clary. _Cool out_." Jace taunted. Clary looked about to growl. The guy behind her looked confused.

"You know him, Clary?" She shrugged him off, never taking her eyes off Jace.

"Unfortunately," she replied stepping closer to him.

"You say that like if meeting me was a bad thing, _Clary_." He knew she was getting pissed. Beyond pissed.

"Because it was a bad thing, damn it! It was the worst mistake I've ever made, _Jace_," she hissed. He stepped closer to her with a smirk.

"That's not what you were saying the other night," he whispered harshly to her. Her eyes widened in anger.

Suddenly he felt a blinding pain on his left cheek as his head jerked to the side. He brought his hand up to where Clary had just slapped him.

"The fuck?" He yelled, mad.

"Call me, okay? I'm so sorry, Jordan." He heard her tell the other guy. He opened his eyes to see her walking towards him with a glare. She turned abruptly to her right and went directly to the door. The little bell chimed announcing her departure. The manager came out of nowhere, finally noticing the disruption.

Jace looked back at the guy. He looked uncomfortable. He turned back to the poor girl and talked to her. She nodded and walked quickly away from them. Jace rolled his eyes.

"Ah, fuck it," Jace muttered to himself. With the napkin, he got all the spaghetti off and most of the ice cream. Fishing out fifty dollars out of his wallet, he left it on the table, and went out the front door as well.

w.^.w

She couldn't believe how easily she lost control of herself. At one moment she was laughing happily with Jordan, the next slapping Jace in front of everyone at the restaurant. Jace just really knew how to push her buttons, and she didn't like it.

Huffing, she walked into an alley that would get her home faster. She hadn't wanted to hail a cab.

"Stupid asshole and his stupid words and his stupid manners and his stupidly good-looking hair an—" she droned on and on, insulting Jace in any way possible.

She jumped a puddle, not wanting to dirty the shoes that Isabelle had let her borrow just for the occasion. She had her bag on her hand which only contained her phone, lipstick, and a few bucks. Basically useless.

A hand closed around her forearm. Clary's eyes widened as she turned around, her fist ready to connect with the hobo that wanted to smuggle her. The alley was dark, but she expected to hear the sickening crunch of his nose breaking under her knuckles . . .

That never came because a hand closed around her hand.

_Okay, then_, she thought, panicking slightly. _Plan B._

She stepped on the man's foot and heard a satisfying groan come from the taller man. She prepared her other leg, ready to kick him where it would hurt him the most, but she never had the chance to because the man spun her around and pressed her whole body against his chest. Her breath left her lungs instantly.

She struggled and felt as the man chuckled. Clary was becoming more scared as every second passed.

"Nice moves,_ Ginger_," the man told her, and she felt her blood boiling. He let her go and she didn't spend more than just one second to turn to look at him. He was smirking at her as he passed a hand through his hair.

"What the fuck do _you _want?" she asked him bitterly, getting defensive.

"I wanted to apologize," he told her. Clary could have laughed if he had not been too damned serious.

"For what, you dickhead?" He chuckled.

"For everything. Or, if you want me to be more specific, for pissing you off so much. One day you'll get sick from your outbursts and then the bill would be on me." He shrugged.

"Well," she began, "I don't forgive you." She smiled at him and turned on her heel to keep walking down the alley. She heard the resounding steps of his feet hitting the cement as he followed her.

"Come on, Clary! I'll try to be nice."

She looked over her shoulder. "You are _not _capable of doing that."

Before she knew it, she was pinned against the wall completely immobilized by his body. She looked up at his golden eyes that seemed to glow in the dark. "Try me."

"I don't want to," she whispered. He looked from one of her eyes to the other. After a few seconds he sighed.

"Let me make it up to you."

"And if I don't want you to make it up to me?"

He got closer to her face until his breath was hitting her cheeks. "I won't let you go." She narrowed her eyes.

"You wouldn't dare . . ." Her thought trailed away as his lips began tracing her jaw bone.

"I just want to get to know you, Clary." Her breath left her as his lips reached just below her earlobe. She felt something hard against her stomach but didn't say anything knowing what it was.

"Why would you want to do that?" She asked quietly. He flicked out his tongue, licking her earlobe before biting it. She gasped and squirmed, but didn't move away.

"I want to be your friend," he whispered harshly.

_Try making new friends!_

The phrase resounded through her head over and over again. It seemed to melt just like her common sense. She wasn't thinking straight. She couldn't. Not with his bulge pressed against her and his lips teasing her.

"O—okay," she heard herself saying. She felt his lips against her cheek smiling.

"Great."

* * *

><p><em>:D I had this schedule done by <em>camibandlover_ which was basically updating this on Sunday and _Remembering Sunday_ on Wednesday of this week (which will happen. I will make it happen) and I updated this early because tomorrow I will be going to ComicCon like every nerd out there. :D_

_I hope this satisfied you guys. I want to get an update out every week (either _RS_ or _BA_. I really don't mind the order. Not anymore). _

_Thanks to _camibandlover_ for the schedule. ;) _BlondeHairBlueEyes14_ because she says I want to murder her. And _07XReflectional_ who will be going to ComicCon with me like a total geek! :DD (I apologize to you MDDness in advance. ;)) [PS: Next year I'm dressing as a Pokeball, girl. Got it? xD]_

_Now, :D Jace is so sexy. And mean. And such an ass! xD Would you mind leaving a small (or big. I like long reviews) . . ._

_Review? :D_


	5. Chapter Four

***All the characters from The Mortal Instruments belong to Cassandra Clare and her incredible mind. Nothing will ever be owned by the author of this story. ;)***

_Musical Preference:_

_Can't Stop- Red Hot Chilli Peppers_

_Steady, As She Goes- The Raconteurs_

Heh, I honestly don't know how you will respond . . . :D

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Four<span>

"Blue, pink, or white?" He asked, his blue eyes looking disapprovingly at the orange he had decided not to use as an option.

She smirked. "How about that green behind you?" He looked at her with a frown before turning around and seeing three other colors of boxes there. He scoffed as he grabbed the green.

"At least you didn't ask for the red," he murmured as he placed the box inside the shopping cart.

"I've got too much red already, Alec." She grinned because it was true. Red flowered wallpaper, red bed spreadsheet, red bathroom accessories. She looked back at her friend. "Thanks for coming with me."

He shrugged with a smile. "I prefer hanging out with you than with Isabelle. Besides, she ditched you. My sister is too mean to you." Clary rolled her eyes as she pushed the cart towards the clock's aisle.

"She and Simon ditch me all the time nowadays. It's almost religion for them." Alec grimaced.

"It's disgusting." He stopped in front of a cat clock, all with the tail swaging back and forth.

"Are you talking about the cat," she pointed, "Or your sister and my best friend?"

"Both," he said with a lift to his voice as he moved to an owl clock. "I like this one."

Clary laughed as she looked at the clock. It was very pretty. It was medium sized with a soft bronze-slash-gold-like color. Its eyes were closed and instead of the wings being closed, it had them wide open, showing perfectly chiseled feathers.

Picking it up to place it inside her cart, she complimented Alec on his good taste.

"I learned it all from you, Clary," he said with a wave of his hand. Clary chuckled with a roll of her eyes.

"That's true. But still, you should learn to accept compliments."

"Uh-huh, sure. Anyways, why didn't you ask that Jacob kid to come help you with your apartment shopping?" He asked as they walked to the kitchen ware. She frowned.

"Jacob . . . Oh! You mean Jordan? The guy Isabelle set me up with?" Alec nodded. "Well, I didn't really leave a good impression. And he is so not a kid. I bet he is your age." He raised an eyebrow with a small smile.

"Not the point. Did you ask the waiter for an autograph because he looked like Russell Crow in front of him?" Clary bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing.

"No," she replied controlled, although she wanted to laugh very, _very _hard. "_That _was in Olive Garden." Alec smirked as, Clary imagined, he remembered that time. "No, we were at this fancy restaurant I hadn't been before. I really don't remember the name. It was in Italian, I think. Point is, I left him in the restaurant after half an hour of being there."

He raised an eyebrow. "Now, why did you do that?"

Clary blushed. "I sort of came across this one person . . ." She trailed off as he remembered the pain in her hand after slapping him. "Alec, when you feel bad about someone what do you do?"

Alec looked at Clary with a confused expression since she had changed the subject so drastically. "Um, what do you mean 'feel bad'? As in, pity or—"

"Instinct," she interrupted. "Like, you have a bad feeling about someone."

"Is that what you felt with Jordan?" Clary shook her head.

"No, not at all. Jordan was perfectly fine. It's just . . . There was this guy there that I know, and I really never liked him, only that he is very—and I mean _very_—good looking."

"You slept with him?" He asked nonchalantly as he looked at purple pans. Clary stopped her cart.

"_Isabelle told you!_" She shrieked. Alec's eyes widened.

"You _did?_ Clary! I was just kidding!" She smacked her hand against her forehead.

"Ah, damn." Looking at Alec she knew she had blown it. "Yeah, I did, but it was nothing. I swear. But . . . He really pissed me off that night. I'd never acted like that since the Lindsey incident in high school." We both shuddered. "I thought my temper was finally under control."

"Getting a purple eye sure makes you want to change. It worked for you. Well . . . At least for the last, what? Eight years?" Their eyes widened. "I felt so old saying that."

"You make _me_ feel old," she told him as she placed cups inside the car. He rolled his eyes at her.

"You still look nineteen. By the time I was graduating from high school, people thought I was twenty-three. Be proud of your height."

"Thank you." She rolled her eyes. "No, but really. I've always had a bad feeling around him. Besides, his ass-y attitude does nothing to help his case."

"So, attractive, asshole, and with money I bet." Clary sighed defeated with a frown.

"Their all the same, huh?" She glanced at Alec. "Do I just have the great luck of finding them like that, or is every single guy out there the same?"

Alec cocked his head to the side as he thought about it. "Probably the latter." Clary cracked a smile.

"You're not like that, Alec." He rolled his eyes.

"I can be if I want to, but I reserve that for strangers and your brother." He shrugged as he looked at a mixer. "Do you really need one? I remember mom always having one but never using it."

Shaking her head she moved on. "I don't have the time or energy to make my own drinks."

Alec coughed, and it sounded a lot like "lazy", but she wouldn't point that out. "Anyways, what did you do t—"

Clary jumped as "Moves like Jagger_" _began playing from her purse. Alec cracked a smile at her as she began fishing for it. Once she did, she saw a name that would've made her raise an eyebrow if she could.

_Jace Wayland._

They had exchanged phone numbers after he had walked her home the night of the incident at the restaurant.

_Just shoot for the stars,  
>If it feels right, then aim for my heart . . .<em>

She didn't make any move to open her phone at all. Alec noticed.

"Who is it?" Clary looked up at him with a frown.

"Ass Number Two," she replied softly. Alec's eyes and smile widened.

_Kiss me 'till you're drunk,  
>and I'll show you . . .<em>

"You have his number?" Clary rolled her eyes as her ringtone stopped playing.

"Long story, bro. Maybe for another day . . . When you're feeling horny." She began moving to another aisle.

Alec raised an eyebrow. "You slept with him more than twice?" Clary turned to him with wide eyes and red cheeks.

"N—no! Not at all!" She took in a deep breath. "Just once. And I plan on keeping it that way."

The whistling of the song began once more and she rolled her eyes again. Alec snickered to himself.

"Just answer and put it on speaker," he demanded moving to stand next to her. She scowled at him.

"You suck," she said right as she opened her phone. "Clary Fray."

"_And I'm Jace Wayland_," his voice responded playfully. She could feel the smirk on each of his words. "_Didn't want to answer the phone to your new friend?_"

"It was on silent, idiot," she said without thinking, then bit her lip from laughing. Alec was grinning as he heard the call.

"_Oh, now, was it? I guess I'll just have to believe you_." Clary rolled her eyes as a small smile passed through her lips.

"Why must you be calling me on a Saturday, _Blondie_?"

"_Why do you ask? Are you busy or something?_" Clary looked up at Alec's smiling face.

"Actually, I am," replied Clary at the same time Alec hissed, "no, she isn't!"

Clary could hear Jace's chuckle as she slapped Alec's arm as she mouthed "treason" to him. Alec shrugged and motioned to the phone.

"_I'll take that as a shopping day with the girls?_" Clary burst out laughing at that as she looked at Alec who had a frown on his face.

"I do not sound like a girl," he whispered.

"Being compared to a girl isn't a compliment for gays?" Clary asked Alec as he rolled his eyes.

"Being gay doesn't mean we want to be girls. It just means we are attracted to cocks instead of breasts," he said defensively.

"Okay—okay," she replied panting. She grinned. "I apologize."

"_I apologize too,_" they both heard the voice from the phone, slightly amused.

"Oh, right. I was talking to you." She rolled her eyes. "Totally forgot."

"_Sure,_" he said, "_Anyways, I was calling to see if you wanted to accompany Camille and me to an auction we're going to._" Clary frowned.

"Why do you want me as a third wheel?"

There was a pause, then, "_Third wheel?_"

"Yeah, I mean, I think I would feel awkward with Camille and you being all lovey-dov—"

She was cut off by laughter. Looking up at Alec, she saw a frown that looked a lot like hers.

"_You think Camille and I are together!_" He asked after he stopped laughing.

"Well, uh, yeah? I've always thought so. I mean, at the art exhi—"

"_We are not together,_" he said with enough amusement in his voice. Clary's eyes widened.

"Oh, okay then."

"_Anyways, are y—" _In the background, there was a barely-there sound of four tones ringing. "_Oh, shit. Clary, I'll call you back on the details. Camille will be excited you are joining us."_

_Click._

"Huh, that was nice," commented Alec as he stared at the phone in Clary open hand.

"Yeah . . . Look at the bright side: I'm going to an auction," she said, frowning.

"Didn't you pay me once to get you out of going to an auction with your grandmother?" he asked her, walking down the aisle.

"Huh," she said, closing her phone and stuffing it into her bag. "That's right. I hate auctions."

o.8.o

_I can't believe I'm his temporary secretary!_

Magnus was sitting on a table outside of Mr. Wayland's office. In plain view of everyone. He couldn't understand why they would choose him for that exactly, but Magnus knew it was embarrassing. Of course, he didn't show it.

_Oh, dear Lord, _he thought sourly looking at the elevator doors opening.

Walking through them was Aline Penhallow-Wayland. Jimmy Choo shoes, Gucci purse, Dolce & Gabbana glasses, and Chanel being low cut two piece dress.

Magnus rolled his eyes and pressed _the _button four times before returning to his work. There were only two things Aline would come to the office.

One: to show she just came from a shopping spree.

And two: to make everyone understand that she is _Mrs. Wayland._

Of course, she's oblivious to the fact that there are a million girls that Mr. Wayland manipulates into thinking that _they _are _Mrs. Wayland._

_Sicko, _he thought.

She basically sauntered over to his desk, taking her time to take off her sunglasses. Magnus couldn't deny that, yes, Aline was beautiful. Her features were all rounded quite nicely and she had an amazing body. He also knew that she was all-in-all a good person. Magnus and she just never clicked.

_Definitely better than Kaelie, _he added as an afterthought.

"Magnus," she said with a small smile. "It's quite nice seeing you."

"I agree," he replied curtly, fixing his glasses. "Jace is quite busy so I don't know if—"

"_Jace_? Since when do you have the right to call him _Jace_?" She rolled her eyes. _Ah, there's the attitude._ "He is Mr. Wayland and I am his," she raised her voice, "wife. _Mrs. Wayland._" Point Two has been proven.

_Give me the strength to not slap her, Lord,_ he prayed silently.

"And since that _is_ my name, by law," she continued, "I can go in whether you let me or not." She smiled with satisfaction. "Excuse me." She walked up to the door that led to Mr. Wayland's office with the type of strut that impressive women possess.

_Eh, keep working on it, sweetie._

o.8.o

"Aline," he greeted with a sigh. "You know how I hate when people barge in my office without notice." She waved her hand dismissively making her bracelets jingle. Jace flinched internally as he took in her outfit.

_There goes all my money, _he thought.

"You weren't busy, so I don't see why it is such a problem." She took off the top of her beige dress, exposing a black, strapless corset. Jace's lips twisted to a smirk as he saw sit down on one of his chairs. She winked at him, grabbing a tube of lipstick out of her purse.

"I hope you still remembered rule nu—"

"Number one: Lock door once you come in." She rolled her eyes with a smile. "I am not a beginner, Mr. Wayland." She glossed with the sticky substance, making her mouth dark pink and pouty. Jace didn't enjoy that on his face when he kissed him, but it made Aline look hot, so he would let it go.

"Miss Penhallow," he began moving to his computer. "I need a pen. Mind looking for one?" Aline grinned and stood up, moving slowly towards his table. Jace felt arms over his shoulders and hot breath on his right ear. Red nails went directly to his desk, grabbing a pen and bringing back to his hand. "Thank you."

"My pleasure," he heard her say as her hands moved to his shirt, unbuttoning it. "It's getting stuffy in here, don't you think so, Mr. Wayland?"

"Yes, in fact, I do." He turned his chair around and soon had Aline right in front of him. Putting his hands on her hips, he admired the black lace that was surrounding her breasts nicely. "Would _you_ like some help with these," he paused, fingering her skirt, "_things_?" he finished disgustedly. Aline giggled.

"If you don't mind," she said, pulling his shirt out of his pants. "They are hideous, aren't they?" Jace chuckled and reached up to bit her bottom lip. She moaned and rolled the shirt off his shoulders, leaving his bare chest out in the open.

Without hesitating, Jace unzipped her skirt carefully, not forgetting the tantrum she had when he ripped her "_designer shirt_". Jace didn't care, but also didn't want to go through that right now.

The skirt fell neatly to the floor, revealing Aline with a pair of matching panties. She went ahead and sat down on his lap, straddling his legs. Hugging his under his arms, she whispered harshly, "Would you like to help me with something else, Mr. Wayland?" Jace smirked, loving the sound of his employee's name for him on her lips.

"I certainly can, Miss Penhallow," he replied before taking her mouth in his.

* * *

><p><em>So, uhm, :D Yeah... Everyone has their bitchy side. *shrugs* Haha! Anyways, here you go, people! :D<em>

_OH OH! I ALWAYS FORGET! But well, I'm going to be uploading the picture of how I imagine Jace's tattoo to be. It's actually a picture of my friend's tattoo, and I've gotta say, it's pretty hot. :}_

_Uh, shout-outs... O.O Yeah... _BlondeHairBlueEyes14_ because she FINALLY updated. _Sportyno1_ because she is freaking amazing as I described in RS. And _camibandlover_ and _07XReflectional_. Cams is a bitch. Paulina is MY bitch. ;) OH! And Cams helped me with one part... :D_

_Please tell me ANYTHING you want to tell me. I will not be mean or shit if you think something is wrong. I will try to fix it. :D So, yeah, would you..._

_Review? :D_


	6. Chapter Five

***All the characters from The Mortal Instruments belong to Cassandra Clare and her incredible mind. Nothing will ever be owned by the author of this story. ;)***

_Musical Preference:_

_Working For The Weekend- Loverboy_

_She's Got You High- Mumm-Ra_

Enjoy. :]

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Five<span>

"Honey, can you bring me a glass of water?"

Clary looked up from her pile of papers and nodded. Remembering he couldn't see her, he yelled a quick "coming" while she went to the kitchen.

Filling a glass up to the brim with water, she checked the time. 2:12. She smirked and walked towards the study of the house, careful not to let the water fall. As she passed through the threshold, he lifted his head up and smiled. Passing him the glass, he smiled back.

"Thanks, honey," he said and hunched his head back in the papers.

"No problem, dad." She took the glass from him. "Hey, it's Sunday and you're in here working your butt off. Why don't you leave that and go upstairs with mom in her study? You know she loves when you're in there with her," she told him with a smile.

He didn't look convinced. "Clary, I can't stop right now," he said wiping his glasses on his shirt while scowling. Clary looked at him. He looked tired. Usually, his blonde hair speckled with gray looked professional, but right now, they just made him look older than Clary liked to imagine.

Walking over to his side, she pushed his folder closed. "You've been in here since eleven. That can't be healthy. I'm going to be leaving in a few as well. I can't keep grading homework. C'mon." He didn't resist as she pushed him off his chair into a standing position.

"I live around such bossy women," he muttered looking down at Clary with a smile.

"Dad, I feel old when you call me a woman," she replied rolling her eyes. He looked incredulous at her as they ascended the stairs.

"What do you want me to call you? Baby? Teen? Young Adult?" He paused. "_Adult?_" She pouted and he laughed. "Honey, with that stature you'll always be eternally young."

"Why do you torture me about it, too?" She shook her head as they entered Jocelyn's study. "It's, like, tall people's duty to mess with my height."

"Doesn't help that you are an exception," chimed in Jocelyn looking over a painting, paintbrush in hand. Clary rolled her eyes at her mother.

"Thanks, mom," she muttered as she sat on the small couch of the side of the room. Valentine sat next to her and draped his arm over Clary's shoulders pulling her in like old times. Jocelyn turned to look at them with a smile.

"We haven't had dinner with you in a long time, dear," Jocelyn reprimanded as she turned to painting and painted a dark blue streak over a river.

"There hasn't been much reason for dinner ever since . . ." Clary's voice trailed off and she shook her head. Looking up, she found Jocelyn looking at her with sadness. "Anyways, now I'm not appreciated on Sunday brunches?"

Valentine laughed. "Of course you are, honey. Dinners are just something your mom and I prefer."

"Didn't you have plans today, Clary?" asked Jocelyn with a frown on her face. Clary frowned herself.

"How'd you find out?" she asked, genuinely confused.

Jocelyn looked at her. "John told us of some 'hot date'," she said using quotation marks. Valentine raised his eyebrow at his daughter.

" Joh—_hot date?_" Clary laughed. "That is the most ridiculous thing. How did he even know I had plans? I mean, the only one there when I got the phone call was Ale—" Clary narrowed her eyes at the floor. "Bastard."

Jocelyn smiled. "So what is this event?"

Clary shook her head. "An auction. But I'm not going." Valentine squeezed her.

"Why not?" he asked. "Were you going with friends?"

Clary grimaced. "Not necessarily friends and it starts at three. I still have a lot of work to grade. Parent-teacher conferences are this Friday."

"Who were you going with?" asked Jocelyn. Clary closed her eyes wishing the conversation had not stirred that way. She was going to have a talk with Alec about confidentiality.

"Uhm, remember Camille Belcourt?" she told her, unable to come up with a plausible lie.

Her mom thought for a while before the light bulb went on behind her eyes. "The pretty blonde that bought a painting at the art exhibition?"

Clary nodded. "Yeah. Her and her friend."

"The attractive blonde man with her?" she questioned leaving the paintbrush on the easel and coming to sit on the other side of Clary. She breathed deeply and willed her blush away.

"_Attractive_ blonde _man_?" asked Valentine. Clary looked over at him, but he was looking at Jocelyn with raised eyebrows. Jocelyn laughed.

"Oh, attractive for Clary. You're the only _attractive_ blonde _man_ for me, Val," she said with a small smile. Valentine smiled at her before looking down at Clary.

"_Attractive _blonde _man_?" he asked Clary. She was sure her blush was now permanent.

"_Mom, _stop helping him, yeah? Yes, dad, he is _attractive_. And blonde. _And _a _man. _So, what?"

Valentine shrugged. "That's true. Clary's type is more brunettes or black-haired guys like Simon, Daniel, Sebasti—" Clary's blush all but intensified.

"Oh, look at the time! I better get home!" Clary said and began getting up before Jocelyn stopped her.

"Not so fast," Jocelyn paused. "You've got to go." Clary's eyes widened.

"Wait, _what_? Why, mom!" Clary looked at her dad. "Dad, help me here!" Valentine looked just as confused as Clary.

"They are clients, Clary. You made a commitment with them and you've got to keep it. Remember what we always talk about? The only thing that actually has meaning is—"

"—your name and your word. You don't keep your word, your name has no value," finished Clary for Jocelyn.

She nodded. "Why wouldn't you want to go? It's just an auction."

"Mom, have you forgotten my hate for those types of events? The grounding for ditching grandmother every time she invited me to one? You couldn't have forgotten the time I jumped a fence, consequently ripping the dress I was wearing and falling in a pile of mud. All because I was trying to escape the beauty pageant grandmother was judging."

Valentine chuckled. "She's got a point, Lyn."

"No, she doesn't," said Jocelyn with a serious expression. "You were sixteen at the time. You are now an adult and have to take responsibility for your actions."

Clary sighed. "Okay. Whatever. I've got to go if you want me to attend . . . _that._"

Jocelyn smiled at her and got up. "Here, I'll show you out."

Clary rolled her eyes while standing up. "Mom, I lived here. I know the way out," she said, annoyed.

"I know you do, sweetie. I'd be worried if you didn't." Jocelyn walked towards the hallway. Clary rolled her eyes and kissed her dad's cheek.

"Bye, dad. I'll call tomorrow."

"Bye, honey," he responded with a wave as she left the room. Jocelyn was already going down the stairs and Clary caught up quite easily. Once downstairs, she gathered all her work from the kitchen table. Jocelyn waited patiently, a weird expression taking over her face.

"What's wrong, mom?" Clary said with a sigh.

"Sweetie, you know I want you to be happy, right?"

"Yes, mom. And I am." Clary frowned. "Why, what's the problem?"

"You didn't want to go because of Mr. Wayland," she stated, crossing her arms over her chest. Clary shook her head. How her mom remembered his name was beyond her.

"Partly," she said, unable to lie to her mom.

"Clary, it's been over a month since Sebastian and you broke up. You can't just gi—"

"Mom, I really don't want to talk about what happened between Sebastian and me, okay? That's over. At least I'm trying to get over it," she finished looking up at her mother.

"What better way than to start seeing men? Mr. Wayland is a very—and only because your dad isn't here—sexy man. I wouldn't stop you from him." Clary touched her hand to her heated cheek.

"Dear lord, mom," Clary muttered, embarrassed. "Yes, he is. But there is just something about him that I don't quite like, okay?" Clary walked over to her mom and kissed her cheek. "I'm going to be fine, yeah? I'll call later today or tomorrow."

Jocelyn smiled and smoothed down Clary's hair. "Okay, sweetie. See you soon."

Clary nodded and started walking towards the door, Jocelyn right behind her. As Clary passed the threshold of the door, Jocelyn put a hand on her arm. "Don't lose your temper," she said.

The door closed behind Clary, and with that, a big smirk took over her smile.

w.^.w

"You did tell her 2:45, right?" asked Camille, rephrasing the question for the fifth time. Jace rolled his eyes and scowled at her.

"Yes, I did, Cam. She's not answering her phone. Why don't you get your little ass moving and punch her buzzer?" Camille punched him on the arm.

"The fuck with you, Jace? Why don't you do it? Be a _gentleman_," she hissed at him. Jace's scowl grew immediately as he turned the car's ignition off.

"You know what? I guess I _will_ be a fucking _gentleman_." He closed the door of the car and began walking towards the front door of the building. He was shaking his head muttering a few curses when he bumped into something. The flash of red immediately told him who it was.

"Oh, Jace," she said, an annoyed tone in her voice. Jace's anger flared. How dare she sound annoyed when they had been waiting for her ten minutes?

"Clary," he responded looking at her with a blank face. Her eyebrow's rose before she turned around and opened the door of her building. Jace took in her jeans and t-shirt and knew she definitely wasn't ready to go. "Did you forget about today? I mean, I did just call you yesterday to make plans. Your brain can't be _that _dense."

Jace knew to expect something. Maybe yelling and tears. What he didn't expect was for Clary to calmly turn around, look at him up and down, and finally smiling. But it was wrong. It wasn't sweet or nice. It was . . . Evil? Calculative? Jace couldn't figure it out and that set him off.

She stepped closer to him and looked up at him with that smile still in place. "You may want to change your tone of voice if you want me to be down here in ten minutes. Not everything revolves around _you_, Mr. Wayland." She, then, turned around, the door closing between them. The last thing Jace saw was Clary's retreating form.

Turning around, he tugged at his hair with the scowl still on his face. For unknown reasons, hearing Clary call him "Mr. Wayland" made him feel weird. He didn't like it and that's usually what everybody would call him. Looking up, he saw Camille arching a brow at him from inside his car. He shook his head as he slowly made his way to his seat.

"Well, you truly look frazzled. What'd she tell you?" she asked once he had sat down.

"She said, 'ten minutes'." He paused. "What does that mean for women? Forty-five minutes? An hour, perhaps?" Camille shrugged.

"Every woman is different. You've got to wait and see," she responded getting comfortable in her seat. She went over and switched the radio on.

_Getting ready for the long wait, _he could bet.

Although, rarely enough, Clary came out of her apartment in nine minutes. And, she did _not _disappoint.

w.^.w

There were a few things Clary _hated_ of attractive men. And not just hated, but _hated_. She believed them pretentious assholes with over flooded egos and, deep down inside, bullies.

Clary had learned to take care of bullies when she was young. Having Jonathan made her almost immune to any sort of offense of discrimination from anyone.

Another thing she had learned was that bullies _loved_ pushing on people's buttons. So, when they got a big reaction from someone, they mentally patted their backs for being able to do such damage. Whether despair or anger, they still loved that. So, Clary learned to never give them that.

When Clary was around seven years old, this girl made fun of her red hair, saying she looked like a big strawberry. Clary, not happy with the way they were messing with her, started yelling at this girl and the girl at her. Things got a little heated for seven-year olds and Clary found herself pulling on the other girl's hair.

She got in a lot of trouble for that, and since then, Jocelyn would tell her every single day one thing:

_Don't lose your temper._

Clary decided to use something called reverse psychology. Bullies got so frazzled by it that they would walk away. Jocelyn also told her that:

_They are good with actions. Words scare them._

She had been definitely right by that and Clary loved the look that they got in their eyes when you hit them back. Clary had absolutely gotten it from Jace. His blank face had not changed at all, but his eyes changed from completely in control to astonishment.

_Oh, I will not lose my temper, mom, _she thought. _Though, that doesn't mean I can't get him back for his stupid mouth._

Just to spite him, Clary got ready in record time.

The looks she got from him as she took her seat in the backseat were priceless for her. As she chatted with Camille, Jace's eyes looked at her through the rearview mirror. Clary couldn't help it as she raised an eyebrow and bobbed her head in a "_what?_" gesture. His eyes stayed on her a little longer before his eyes crinkled and he looked back to the road.

Once there, Clary ignored Jace with class as they walked around looking at the various artifacts that were being sold. He didn't try to make talk with her at all and she was more than happy for that. Maybe he'd get the hint.

Even through her badass façade, Clary was having trouble with her own self control. She had to admit that Jace Wayland looked amazing in his Armani suit. As her mom had said, he was a sexy man. Having seen him with and without clothes, she could tell there was no ounce of loose fat in that body.

Her luck didn't run all night, though, because once they had to take their seats for the auction to begin, Jace sat in between Camille and herself, making it almost impossible for Clary to ignore him. Luckily, there was a good looking man next to her that didn't seem to be afraid of showing that he was checking her out.

Smiling, she held out her hand. "Clary," she told him.

"Adam," he said and clasped his hand around hers, his brown eyes twinkling. She felt Jace tense next to her, whether it was because of her interacting with Adam or something else, Clary didn't know, but she knew she was going to take another of her mom's words as advice and start seeing men.

"Nice to meet you," she responded with a flirty smile.

He smirked at her. "The pleasure is all mine. Now," he paused, "you'll have to excuse me for being so direct but, you are truly a beautiful woman." Clary felt a blush creeping to her cheeks. "Are you alone?"

"Uhm, no," she responded putting her cold hand to her cheek. "I come with friends." She honestly didn't know what to call them.

"Well," he glanced up at Jace quickly before settling his eyes on her once more. "If I was your friend there, I wouldn't neglect you at all."

Clary laughed good-naturedly. "You are surely the sweet-talker, Adam."

"Only to women who are worth it," he replied, winking at her slightly. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped as a frown took over his face. His eyes were looking over her shoulder.

"Clary, will you come with me?" she heard Jace say from next to her. She smiled at Adam briefly before looking at Jace.

"I'm actually a little busy. What do you need?" she told him rather snarky. He raised an eyebrow.

"I want you to come with me. Is that going to be a problem?" Clary scowled at him.

"Actually, it is going to be a problem. I'm not liking you tone. Now, if you'll excuse me, I was talking to someone." She made to turn back to Adam when she felt Jace's hand encircle her arm.

"Clary," he said scolding. She looked up at him and stood up with a curse while shaking his hand off.

"Fine," she said, but turned back to Adam with a flirty smile. "I'll be right back."

Once Jace had taken her to the bar, he turned to her with a steely gaze. Clary raised her eyebrows as she crossed her arms.

"What the fuck, Clary?" he plainly told her. She frowned.

"I don't know what you are asking me," she told him truthfully. He ran his fingers through his hair.

"You are flirting with a man when you're here with me?" Clary looked at him surprised as she took in his alarmed face as he realized what he'd said. All too soon, his face closed off.

"Technically, I am not here with _you._ You invited me to come with Camille and yourself. This was _never_ a date. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong." He looked at her calculating what to say next before he took her arm and dragged her somewhere farther from people. Clary just went along while rolling her eyes.

He stopped once they entered an empty gallery. Clary looked up at him as he gazed down at her. "I thought I made it clear that I was interested in you at the alley."

Clary raised her eyebrows. "Yeah? Well, you aren't winning me over with your way with words." Jace snorted.

"So, what? You want me to talk to you like that kiss-ass idiot?" Clary rolled her eyes in frustration.

"No. But insulting me isn't helping your case at all. And he may have been a kiss-ass, but idiot he wasn't. Right now, you are the idiot." Clary saw as his eyes darkened and he began walking towards her. She frowned but stood her ground.

"Maybe I'm an idiot. But, who cares? You certainly don't. You've been looking at me all evening like you want to take my clothes off and eat me," he said, his voice rough. Clary breathed out shakily. So maybe she wasn't so good at hiding it.

"You've been doing that too," she told him, her voice a whisper. He stopped right in front of her and she could feel the warmth radiating off him raising goose bumps on her arms.

"Yes, I have." His hands grabbed her hips before slowly stroking her sides. His lips went to her neck, softly kissing her there, making Clary gasp. She put her hands on his shoulders softly and pulled him back until they were face to face, his hands still on her sides.

She got up on her tiptoes and kissed his lips lightly. Jace pressed her body to his and kissed her more deeply. Clary felt overpowered by his body, lips, hands. Everything. They were almost not making her think straight.

"You know," she began, breaking the kiss. She looked up at him with a smirk. "It sucks that you are an ass."

She disentangled herself from him and walked out of the gallery, smirk still in place.

* * *

><p><em>No excuse for not updating in almost two months. I'm so sorry. Incredible writer's block. I swear. I was dying. I, originally, had three beginnings for this chapter and just yesterday I decided to use this one, so it was very hard and tedious work. This was supposed to be a Thanksgiving gift but seeing as it is 1:19, it doesn't count. *sigh*<em>

_I hope you guys can forgive me and I'll try (no promises) to update RS as well before Monday. :) I really am trying to get through these writer's block._

_Thanks to BlondeHairBlueEyes14, Sportyno1, camibandlover, and 07XReflectional. I love these chicks and I would write a mesage but I need to go to sleep. xD_

_Again, thank you for reading and it would mean a lot if you could leave an amazing . . ._

_Review? :)_


	7. Chapter Six

***All the characters from The Mortal Instruments belong to Cassandra Clare and her incredible mind. Nothing will ever be owned by the author of this story. ;)***

_Musical Preference:_

_Typical- Mute Math_

_It's About Time- Barcelona_

_Something Good Can Work- Two Door Cinema Club_

:D Have at it, guys!

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Six<span>

"My man! Wayland!" Jace gave a tight-lipped smile as the door opened.

"Verlac," he commented with neutral tone as he stood from his desk to greet his visitor. Jace moved around his desk with a hand outstretched. Sebastian took it firmly, and Jace couldn't help but squeeze his hand more than normal. Call it man dominance or any shit like that.

Sebastian smirked as he plopped down on the chair across Jace's desk. "I just saw the new recruit. How long has that beauty been here, huh?" He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Jace fought the grimace. "Four days," he responded, his words clipped. The faster Jace answered his questions the sooner he would be gone from his office. Sebastian whistled a low tune before sitting up, his smirk becoming more pronounced.

"How many times have you banged her already?" he asked him with a raised eyebrow. Jace couldn't fight the glare.

"Incredibly, none." Both of their heads turned to see Camille entering the room with her eyes on her tablet. Jace let out a breath and sat back with a smile as she closed the door. Camille stopped a few feet away from them, tapped on her tablet once more, and finally looked up at Sebastian with a glare. "Not that it's any of your business, of course."

Sebastian stood up with a grin and approached Camille with a bounce on his step. "Camille! My sweetheart! Life's sorrowful without you by my side!" He made to hug Camille but stopped when she growled.

"Touch me and I'll have to refrain from being cordial," she hissed at him. Jace couldn't help but grin as she side stepped him and took her seat. Of course, not before she moved it away from Sebastian's chair.

"Haven't changed your mind, Bel?" he asked her with a twitch of his lips as he sat back down on his chair.

"Oh, dear! Would it bother you to take another breath to finish my name? It's Belcourt, Verlac. _Belcourt._" Sebastian rolled his eyes. "And the answer will always be no. I'm not interested in assholes. I have Jace for that," she finished. Sebastian's eyes twinkled.

"So," he began turning his head to Jace, "you finally bedded her, huh?" A growl was heard and Jace was out of his seat restraining Camille from Sebastian before she could land a punch on his face. It literally hurt Jace to not let her punch the living shit out of him.

"Sebastian," Jace hissed with a glare. "This is my office and I will not tolerate that kind of behavior in here. My building, my rules. Now you will respect my workers and they will do the same. I would like for you to apologize to Camille." Sebastian grimaced and stood up with a glare of his own. Camille struggled against Jace's grip on her.

"Do you know who I—" he began but Jace cut him with a roll of his eyes.

"Yes, I know who you are. And how long have you had that title of CEO? Less than three months. I've had it for two years and a half. You should learn how to conduct yourself in these meetings. Apologize." Sebastian rolled his eyes but did what was asked and sat down again. Camille huffed and stopped struggling. Jace grabbed her chair and moved it to the other side of the desk. Camille glared at him before sitting.

"What is this? Detention?" she hissed at him in a whisper. Jace chuckled.

"No. It's so that I can prevent you from launching yourself at him." He raised an eyebrow at her as she rolled her eyes. She tapped on her tablet before nodding at Jace. He turned back to a scowling Sebastian. "The point in this meeting, Verlac, is to work on the project that Tyson had in store. He wa—"

"Yeah, yeah," interrupted Sebastian with a wave of his hand, "the new operating program for schools." Jace refrained from narrowing his eyes. He was going to remain the adult here no matter what.

"Yes. Our engineers will get together as soon as possible and begin building it. We need it done before the next school year starts." Sebastian frowned and sat up.

"That's less than six months, Wayland. You think they'll have it done?" Jace almost sighed in relief at his true involvement in the project. He would have never accepted this merge if he'd knew Sebastian would take the chair.

"Well," Jace sat back, "they have templates and Camille has the specifications that were set a few months ago when this was first brought up. If we have this done in two or three months, we will have sufficient time to test it and make changes if needed."

"Okay, but one of the major problems is the system going down. These programs are divided in states. This one will be for all fifty states. How will it be ensured that that won't happen if it's fifty times the load going in one program?"

Camille smirked and handed Sebastian a folder. "We're dividing the facilities in regions. Same program." Sebastian's eyes widened as he looked at the stats. He let out a low whistle.

"Tyson's has an empty floor. Would that be enough to get them started?" Sebastian asked still looking over the papers. Jace looked over at Camille as she nodded and began tapping on her tablet once again.

"I believe it would," said Jace with a sigh. "Can you get your men there on Monday? Mine will be there and we'll have a meeting." Sebastian nodded and stood up.

"Time?" he asked, finally taking his eyes off the folder. Jace stood up as well.

"Ten thirty." Jace walked around the table and followed Sebastian out the door.

Sebastian turned around before leaving and saluted Camille with a smirk before offering his hand to Jace. He took it with a smirk of his own.

"There will be muffins waiting!" Sebastian exclaimed and walked out the door. Jace closed it and looked over at Camille annoyed. She had the same expression.

Camille walked towards Jace and opened the door to exit herself. She sighed. "He's tolerable once he gets to business. I'll just be fifteen minutes late to every meeting you have with him from now on," she told him, resigned.

Jace chuckled. "I won't be able to excuse you." Camille glared at him and walked out the door. She turned right before going into her office and scowled.

"You now that I do not like muffins," she said, leaving Jace laughing behind.

w.^.w

"Ms. Lightwood," she called out with a roll of her eyes. Isabelle smiled and stood up from her chair and approached her.

"Ms. Fray," she greeted with a hand shake before entering the classroom. Clary closed the door behind her. She waited until she was a few feet from the door before turning on Isabelle.

"Izzy, now you're crashing my conferences?" Clary asked her with a scowl. "You have thirty minutes and that's only because you actually wrote your name down on the log." She sat down and gave Isabelle a fake smile.

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Clary, I haven't been able to talk to you all week! 'I'm grading', 'I'm in tutoring', 'I'm eating'," she tried mimicking Clary's voice. Clary was almost certain that was not how her voice sounded. "What can a friend do?"

"Wait until the weekend?" supplied Clary with wide eyes. "But, whatever. You're already here. What do you want?" Isabelle grinned at Clary.

"I want to know what happened on Sunday!" she exclaimed with dancing eyes. Clary almost groaned.

"What makes you think I actually went?" she asked quietly.

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "I talked to your mom." Clary sighed.

"Okay, well, nothing. They picked me up, we went, looked at some beautiful artifacts, then they took me home," she said in a rushed sentence. Isabelle cocked her head to the side.

"What did he do?" Clary frowned. Give it to Isabelle to know something happened.

"He was an asshole." She crossed her arms over her chest and sat back on her chair. Her eyes widened while Isabelle laughed.

"Tell me something that isn't new!" she said trying to cover her giggles. Clary narrowed her eyes.

"Fine. I kissed him," she said. She could remember his soft lips hard against hers. His hands over her, grabbing, stroking. Just remembering brought shivers and goose bumps out of her. Isabelle's eyes bugged out. "Happy?"

Isabelle snorted and nodded. "Fuck yeah," she said.

"Izzy, language, please. We're on school grounds." Clary's cheeks flushed as she took a sip of her water. Isabelle rolled her eyes and sat up.

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry. Okay, but what? You kissed him! You're telling me you don't like him and then you're kissing him?" Isabelle fanned her cheeks dramatically. Clary scowled.

"Izzy, shh! Be quiet! And why? I . . . Okay, I really don't know. He pulled out the jealous card on me and—" Isabelle almost squealed.

"He was jealous? What were you doing? Better yet, what the hell were you wearing?" Clary rolled her eyes at Isabelle's questions.

"I was wearing that green dress you gave me for my birthday last year and an ivory blazer," she said in a hushed voice. Isabelle grinned.

"The super tight one?" She wriggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Please tell me you wore fuck-me heels!" Isabelle apologized after Clary's severe look.

"Yeah, that one, and . . ." Clary sighed. "Yes." Isabelle jumped in her seat.

"Clary! You _so_ wanted to provoke him!" Clary shrugged.

"It was the last thing I could do since he practically called me stupid," she growled. Isabelle frowned.

"When did he do that?" she asked, crossing her legs.

"I was a little late and hadn't changed and he just asked if I had forgotten and called me dense, or something like that." Clary glared. Isabelle snorted with a scowl.

"Huh, he was being an asshole. Why'd you kiss him, then?" Clary shrugged in response.

"I don't know . . . To get my point across?" she asked with uncertain eyes.

"And that was?" asked Isabelle with an arched eyebrow.

"That he doesn't have a chance being the egotistical asshole he is," replied Clary with a nod. Isabelle smirked.

"Language," she scolded playfully. Clary grinned. "You showed him what he was missing?" Clary chuckled and nodded. Isabelle high-fived Clary with a laugh. "I've taught you well, haven't I?"

"Whatever, Izzy. He called yesterday," she informed Isabelle who was looking very satisfied.

"Did he cry for you? Did he tell you that you were right and he was wrong?" Clary began laughing at Isabelle's theatrics.

"I didn't answer," she told her with a smile. "You aren't the only one that isn't getting an answer from me. I have not been able to talk to anyone at all. The call hit voicemail. I barely saw it this morning." Isabelle frowned.

"Okay. You think he'd call again?" she asked standing up. Clary stood up as well shaking her head.

"Does it really matter?" she asked with a frown.

Isabelle shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you should give him a chance. Make him prove himself to you. He fucks up and he's out!" Clary laughed, not caring anymore about language quite that much.

"I'll think about it," Clary told her with a grin.

"That's my girl!" Isabelle went around and hugged her. "I have lunch with Simon in a few. Don't be a bitch and call me, yeah?"

Clary rolled her eyes and nodded. "Of course. Say hi to Simon for me." Isabelle walked towards the door.

"Oh, I will!" Isabelle said over her shoulder. "You go kick ass!" she exclaimed with a smirk.

Clary shook her head and sat back down on her desk. Looking at the log, she could see that she only had one meeting left, and it was in half an hour. The smell of popcorn that had been made for selling was still heavy in the air.

Grabbing her bag, she made her way towards the front office and bought a bag of popcorn and a soda. She went inside an empty office and sat, waiting for The Man to make his appearance.

A few minutes later, Clary heard laughter just outside the office. She turned her head and soon gray eyes were leveled with hers.

"Clarissa!" he opened his arms to her in invitation and she stepped into them with a small smile.

"How are you, James?" she asked him as she plopped down on her seat again. He rolled his eyes.

"Just fine, Clary. You?" he asked as he took his seat behind his big desk.

"I'm doing great, Jem." She grinned at him. "Almost done." He raised an eyebrow with a smirk.

"Almost? What the heck are you doing in here, then?" Clary shrugged and popped popcorn into her mouth.

"My next meeting is in twenty minutes. I thought I'd let out some steam with popcorn in your office." He held out his hand for the bag and she passed it to him with a smirk.

"I'm glad you did. I've been smelling this all afternoon." Clary laughed as he moaned over the popcorn.

"Why didn't you go get some?" she asked him as he passed the bag back to her.

"I left my change purse at home, sweetheart." He grinned at him words before putting his feet up on the table and leaning back on his chair.

Clary laughed. "You're the principal, Jem. Can't you just go and get it without even asking for permission?" Jem raised an eyebrow at her.

"Ms. Fray, are you telling me that you are okay with stealing? If that's the case, I believe I need to have a talk with you about morals," he said in his you're-in-trouble voice. Clary rolled her eyes at him and threw popcorn at him. "That's it, Ms. Fray! You're fired!"

Clary began laughing and Jem wasn't able to take his serious act for long. She threw the bag at him and moved out the door. "Have them, sir. I need to go do my job."

"You do that, Clary," he called back at her. He walked back towards her room. She could see few people sitting outside her room in chairs. She frowned but walked faster. She could make out three people. A woman and two men. The couple stood up as soon as they saw her, hiding the other man from her view.

"Ms. Fray!" Mrs. Wilson exclaimed with a pleasant smile as she shook her hand.

"Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, I'm sorry I'm late. I was just taking a quick break," she apologized as she shook her head.

"Don't worry, dear. We just got here." Her husband smiled and nodded in agreement.

Clary smiled back. "Well, then. Let's get started." She opened the door and they went in, finally letting her see the other man sitting down. She did a double take and grimaced. He looked up with a grin. She let out a breath and looked back at the couple inside her room.

"Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, take a seat. I won't take long." They nodded with smiles and turned around. She, then, turned around with a scowl on her face as he stood up. She shook her head as her brain began highlighting how attractive he was looking.

"My Clary! How have you been, darling?" he asked and tried to kiss Clary's cheek but she moved away from him, her grimace widening.

"What are you doing here, Mr. Verlac?" she asked him all-business. His dark eyebrow rose as a smirk appeared on his lips.

"Why, I'm here to see you! I miss you so much and you know how much I love—" he was interrupted by Clary's harsh laugh.

"Don't even go there, Sebastian," she growled at him. "I would suggest you leave and let me do my job." He shook his head with that smirk still in place.

"I'll wait until you're done. I want to take my girl out to eat!" he exclaimed. Clary couldn't help the dry chuckle that escaped her.

"No, you're leaving now. It's been two months, Sebastian, and I would never take you back after what you did." She paused and leveled a glare at him. "And I am not your girl."

"Well, of course you are!" he exclaimed outraged. "You are min—" he was interrupted again by Clary's phone ringing. She took it out and flipped it open without looking to see who it was.

"Hello?" she said into the phone. Sebastian was looking at her with narrowed eyes. His hands were closing and opening. Clary was happy that she was able to annoy him.

"_Clary?_" She froze and opened her mouth to say something but she didn't know what to say. "_Hello? Are you there? Shit, are we really playing this game?_"

She shook her head and answered. "I'm here, sorry. It's me." She could hear Jace sigh into the phone. Out of relief? She wouldn't know. Sebastian was looking at her with confused eyes.

"_Look, I've been thinking about how I behaved myself on Sunday, and I was an asshole. I would like to make it up to you. Will you let me take you for dinner tonight?_" He sounded so sincere that it made Clary smile.

Suddenly, the light bulb turned on.

She grinned. "I'd love dinner with you tonight," she said in her most flirtatious voice. Sebastian's eyes blazed. "I'm certain you can make up for the mess you did on Sunday."

Jace chuckled into the phone. "_That's all I wanted. What do you say, seven? I'll pick you up._" Clary grinned.

"Seven sounds great. Should I dress fancy?" she asked coyly into the phone. Sebastian was fuming which made her want to dance and celebrate.

"_No, casual is perfect,_" he said and Clary could almost hear his smirk.

"Okay, then. I'll see you later," she said.

Jace chuckled. "_I'll see you. Have a good day, Clary._"

"You too," she said and hung up. Sebastian's face was flushed in anger. Clary smirked.

"Who was that?" he asked.

"That," she told him, "was my boyfriend. Now, I'm sorry I can't stay and talk but I have a job to attend." Without waiting for an answer, she strolled into her room closing the door behind her.

"I'm sorry about that. We can get started now," she told the couple, watching through the window as Sebastian run his hand through his hair before walking away. She smirked as she looked for the report card of the Wilson's son. She passed it to them and caught Mrs. Wilson's eye.

She was smirking at her and Clary realized that they may have heard everything. She grinned at Mrs. Wilson and began the meeting. Hopefully, Sebastian Verlac was positively out of her life.

And Jace Wayland may have just gotten the in.

* * *

><p><em>:D<em>

_I'm sorry about the long wait for this. Three months! *facepalm* I feel horrible. _

_Well, you saw Sebastian here. And Jem! My sweet adorable Jem! ;) This chapter was not going to end this way, but, like Clary, the light bulb went on and BAM! this happened! Three-day weekends are amazing! _

_Okay, so, I wanna thank _SportyNo1_ for being my favorite British person! _camibandlover_ for being a beotsh and leaving me without gossip until this way out ;), and _07XReflectional_ who is just plain awesomesauce! I'll go ahead and say this chapter was for _BlondeHairBlueEyes14_, whose birthday is on Wednesday! Happy early Birthday! ;)_

_Okay, well, with RS out of the way, I hope I can update this more often! But, well, school is kicking my ass so, we'll see. xD I don't promise anything._

_So, you should..._

_Review? :D_


	8. Chapter Seven

***All the characters from The Mortal Instruments belong to Cassandra Clare and her incredible mind. Nothing will ever be owned by the author of this story. ;)***

_Musical Preference:_

_Fake Plastic Trees- Radiohead_

_The Scientist- Coldplay_

_Soft Shock- Yeah Yeah Yeahs_

Woop woop! ;) Fun chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Seven<span>

_Hmm,_ he thought as he went over his ties, figuring which one he would wear. There were three; a red-patterned, a royal blue, a pure white. The rest were back home . . . with Aline.

Jace shook his head. He couldn't be thinking of his wife a few minutes before going to a date. With another woman, nonetheless. There was a kind of guilt in the pit of his stomach that he just couldn't understand. Just that thought alone would be enough to make him uneasy—not that he wasn't—but the guilt wasn't what was making him that way. It petrified him that it wasn't for going out with someone while with Aline.

He felt guilt for being married while going out with Clary.

It was a ridiculous thought since he was actually _married_ to Aline. Clary was supposed to be just another fling. But . . . Jace didn't want that.

Jace didn't remember their night together that much. Just flashes of red, a dangerously short dress, fuck-me boots, and a beautiful smile.

After getting to know more of Clary, he realized that one-night stands weren't her style. She had let go for one night. At the beginning, Jace had seen it as a challenge. Getting the sexy, good girl back in bed.

Jace wasn't even sure he wanted that anymore.

The days after the auction were restless for Jace. He felt things he'd never felt with another woman. Clary was dangerous, but safe at the same time. Sweet, but mean. She was the opposite, but not quite. She left him wanting more, and not the more Kaelie and Aline offered. Sex Jace could get—it wasn't that. Clary made him feel different. As much as the idea scared him, he wanted to explore it.

Which was exactly why he couldn't stop himself from calling her on earlier that day. Jace noticed that she had a different tone of voice but refused to ask about it. He figured it was her work and she was just tired. Her acceptance was also part of her restlessness. Either way, Jace was going to take advantage of it no matter what.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Jace knew he shouldn't be doing this. Getting close to Clary would only lead to dangerous grounds. Only problem was that he didn't care and decided to ignore the warning bells.

The ringing of an incoming text coming from his phone brought him back to his reverie. Checking, he saw it was Camille.

_**No tie. Unbutton a few buttons on the top. Roll up your sleeves. **_

Jace rolled his eyes at Camille but followed her directions. She, of course, always knew what suited him better.

Looking himself over, he decided he was ready to go pick up Clary. Just as he was exiting his apartment, his phone rang again.

_**Don't fuck it up.**_

Jace frowned slightly at the phone and left towards his car.

w.^.w

Clary's knee bounced all throughout the cab ride. She couldn't help feeling nervous . . . and anxious. She couldn't deny the prospect of actually seeing Jace alone was promising. She felt like a silly teenager going home to get ready for her first date with her all-time crush.

And, in one sick dimension, it was kind of true.

She wouldn't call Jace a crush, exactly. More like a "promising prospect". It didn't help that Clary already knew how quite promising a certain something about him was . . .

Clary shook her head from such thoughts. It usually took her about two hours to get out of teacher-mode—which meant no profanities, sexual thoughts, or certain needs. Looking over at her phone, she realized it had been less than twenty minutes since she had left the school. Just that was enough reason to make her think that seeing Jace was a terribly bad idea.

That didn't change what she actually desired.

The cab arrived to the front of her apartment building. She tossed a few bills to the driver and went up the stairs. Once she opened the door to her place, she knew someone was in. Her lights were on and she heard movement coming from the kitchen. She rolled her eyes knowing at once who it was.

"Honey, I'm home," she called with a stupid grin. She walked over to the couch, dropped her stuff, and then sank into the cushions.

A head poked out the kitchen's threshold with a grin that basically mirrored hers. "Hey, sweetie. How was work?" Clary tried to not to laugh at the sight of him wearing an apron. Who was he trying to fool? He probably cooked worse than Isabelle and that in itself was a feat. He came over with a plate. Clary couldn't see what it was, but she was _not_ eating it.

"Exhausting, drilling, and annoying," she replied going along with the game.

He paused with a frown. "I am so sorry, sweetheart. Here," he said passing her the plate. "This should make everything better." Clary raised her eyebrows but took the plate. The laughter she had been holding erupted at the sight of what was on the plate.

"Oh, Si . . . Honey, you shouldn't have," she told him as her laughter subsided. Simon rolled his eyes and took a seat next to her.

"Anything for my sweetheart. Now, tell me all about this exhausting, drilling, and annoying day of yours." He took off the apron and dropped it on the floor morphing back into Clary's best friend.

Clary took the Twinkie from the plate and took a bite. "You're right. This did make everything better." Simon snorted and took the other Twinkie from the plate. He motioned with his hand to tell him everything. "Well, it was exhausting because some parents are just not easy to handle. How the kids do it, I don't know. Drilling because your wonderfully beautiful Isabelle decided to have a parent/teacher conference with me . . ." Simon laughed at that one, shaking his head. ". . . and annoying because Mr. CEO came around to my office."

That got Simon's attention as he sat up with a hard look. "What did he want?" he sneered.

"He wanted to 'take out his girl to eat'," she mocked his voice with an eye roll. "Seriously, what the hell did he expect? 'Oh, yes! I've been waiting for you to figure out your mistake all along!'?" They shared a simultaneous eye roll. "Hopefully he got the message."

Simon ran a hand through his hair. "I've never liked the guy," he said. Clary smiled and took his hand.

"I know. I should've listened to you the first time you expressed worries." Simon squeezed her hand and they sat in silence. Clary glanced quickly at her stretched-out-winged owl and her eyes popped out. "Si, I have to kick you out."

He grinned and stood up, pulling her up with him. "Are you going out?"

"Yeah," she said with a smile. "I have a date." Simon paused his movement towards the door and looked over his shoulder.

"Do I know him?" he asked with a cocked eyebrow.

Clary nodded. "Yes, but you haven't met him. Now, choo!" He rolled his eyes and opened the door.

"I'm not a dog, Clarissa."

"I know," she said with a grin and closed the door after him. Taking another quick look at the clock, she decided to take a quick shower.

Thirty minutes later, she was doing what little she could with her hair. Putting on her earrings, she heard the buzzer go off and skipped over to see if it was him.

"_Hey, Clary. It's Jace._" Clary pressed the button and told him to "Come up." With that, she ran to her room again, quickly putting on her shoes and grabbing her sweater and purse before dashing to the mirror to check her lipstick and makeup one last time.

By the amount of time she was taking to look herself over, she knew she was nervous. With that, all of her earlier thoughts came back on full force.

Anxious. Promising. Nervous. Scared. Extremities. Anxious.

Promising extremities.

She had never felt more relieved than then when she heard soft knocks on her door. Checking the mirror, she saw her cheeks were red. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the door, chanting over and over in her head: _"Relaxed, self-possessive beauty."_ Usually, that calmed her nerves, but today it just wasn't working. Once in front of her door, she took another deep breath before opening the door for him.

There he stood. Black dress pants, white button-up shirt—the top buttons undone—and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His hands were inside his back pockets, making his arms stretch against the stiff material of his shirt. His hair was disheveled perfection, resting right on top of his eyebrows. She felt immediately embarrassed for ogling him, but one look at his eyes and she knew she hadn't been the only one looking.

"Clary," he greeted with a smirk. She felt herself smiling.

"Hey, Jace."

w.^.w

Clary hadn't known what they were going to do. Maybe dinner. Sitting down. On chairs. She hadn't anticipated his idea to be of a walk around a not-so well-known street. It wasn't creepy or anything—quite the opposite, lots of lights, people walking in and out—but it was unexpected.

She was glad that she had opted to wearing a tight, strapless black dress. She would have looked ridiculous. Instead, she wore a black, frilly skirt that went up to a few inches over her knee and a black sweater over her white camisole with two-inch open-toed heels. Sweet, classy, cute. That was the image she was going for.

"We're going to this restaurant that has an open terrace. One of my favorites," he told her as they walked towards a less crowded street. Clary nodded wanting nothing more than to sit down.

Five minutes later they were still walking. There was an air of awkwardness. Clary was walking at least one foot away from Jace. By the looks he kept shooting to her, she knew he felt the awkward tension, too. Clary was almost relieved when he spoke up.

"What's up with you?" he asked with a cocked eyebrow. "First, you sounded off on the phone and now you just seem uncomfortable." He sighed. "I usually enjoy making women uncomfortable, but I hate it when it's coming from you."

Clary thought about his words. She had felt the impulse to snap that everything was just fine, but he was being completely open and honest with her. It unnerved Clary how much she missed cocky Jace who didn't make her uncomfortable. A part of her, though, liked seeing this Jace. She sighed and looked down at the pavement. "I—I don't know what I'm doing," she whispered, her eyes downcast. "It's more than easy to be mean to you, but . . . I want to give it a try."

He frowned. "What do you want to give a try to?"

_Not making this easy on me, huh, Jace?_

"Us?" she asked with a shrug. "All I know is that you make me do things on impulse. Every single thing I do around you is not thought thoroughly at all. I never know what to do when I'm with you." All through her confession, her eyes had been fixed on her shoes. He stopped and grabbed her hand, forcing her to stop as well. Clary looked up with a confused look.

Jace looked as confused as she felt, but there was a soft smile on his lips. He opened and closed his mouth a lot, trying to say something but not knowing exactly what he could say. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, his other hand still holding hers.

"You scare the hell out of me, Clary."

And Jace Wayland kept surprising Clary.

Realizing how what he said sounded like, he shook his head and explained. "I mean, all this chasing, the jealousy . . . All of it. It scares me. I've never felt this possessive over someone who isn't even mine to begin with." Clary couldn't be sure, but he muttered something to himself that sounded like "and I shouldn't." Shaking the thought away, she released a relieved breath.

"I'm not quite sure I've had reason to be jealous yet, but there is always this eminent excitement when I'm around you. I can't help it." _My body can't help it,_ was more like it.

Jace smirked almost as if she'd said the last part aloud. He squeezed her hand with his before letting go. "It's the Wayland charm," he said smugly. Clary rolled her eyes and continued walking.

"Sure, whatever." Her eyes lit up and a smile formed on her lips. "By the way, thank you." Jace raised an eyebrow with his smirk still in place, his eyes asking the motive silently. Clary grinned. "You had perfect timing this afternoon."

Jace frowned. "With the call?" Clary nodded, following Jace as he changed course.

"Yes. Ex-boyfriend came around to beg." She rolled her eyes.

"Oh, you had boyfriend issues?" His eyes lit up.

Clary laughed. "Ex-boyfriend. And yeah." He came to a stop in front of a door, opening it and motioning for Clary to go in.

"I would have gladly assumed the position of boyfriend on the phone in order for you to get rid of him," he told her in a whisper as she passed ahead of him with a small grin. Clary found herself smirking as she looked over her shoulder.

"Actually, you did just that." He frowned, not understand and Clary let out a small giggle. "After I hung up on you," she explained, "I told Sebastian—oh, um, that's his name—that you were my boyfriend." Jace's eyes widened. "Then he left." A host came up and led them towards the second floor terrace.

"Oh, really? Huh," he replied, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He shook his head. "How long were you two together?" he asked her, drifting the subject to a different direction. He pulled out her chair and she sat down. He took the seat in front of her.

"Well," she began while unfolding her napkin, "Eight months. A few months ago, he was working at this company—still is. They ascended him to CEO of the company and after that, he just thought that everything and everyone was below him." Clary frowned and looked down at the tablecloth. "We had problems and I ended it before they got out of hand." She looked up to see Jace looking down at the table with his eyebrows furrowed. "Jace?" she asked quietly and he looked up, the frown disappearing.

"What do you do for a living, Clary?" he asked with a small smile. Clary regarded him coolly seeing how easily he had changed the subject. The host brought them both glasses of water and promised a waitress was on her way.

"I am a teacher," she said warily. "Second grade teacher at a public school." Jace grinned.

"Really? My company is actually building a grad—" he stopped himself and narrowed his eyes. "Do you happen to have any connections with Herondale, Enoch and Brothers, or Frankfort Corporation?"

Clary laughed at his skepticism. "No, not at al—"

He stopped her with a smile of his own. "I forgot Graymark Corporation." Clary's breath hitched. "Well, since you don't—"

"I have connections with Graymark. I suppose you should keep your project to yourself." Jace looked at her with confusion written all over his face.

"You have a friend there?" he asked while he took a sip of his water. Clary suddenly felt on the spot. Her cheeks felt warm as she reached for her own glass of water and took a sip.

"Uh, no. More like a relative?" she asked more than stated. He quirked an eyebrow at her. With a sigh, she set down her water and confessed, "Luke Morgenstern is my uncle."

Jace's eyebrows went high up on his forehead, making them almost nonexistent. "You mean, _the _Luke Morgenstern?" Clary smiled tightly.

"Clarissa Morgenstern. Nice to meet you, Mr. Wayland."

w.^.w

Luke Morgenstern was one of the most successful people in New York.

The job, the money, the girls . . . he had it all. He was a role model to go by, or at least for a soon-to-be CEO.

Jace remembered wanting to be just like him before his father gave him the throne. He could count how many times he'd met Luke Morgenstern with the fingers of one of his hands. Every time felt memorable for him; like meeting a rock star just not quite. Luke was nice company, polite, charismatic—everything that was needed in order to maintain a good image.

When Clary had presented herself with the Morgenstern surname, he realized he hadn't even known that about her. He knew her body and personality. Other than that, he didn't know anything else.

Another question that kept going in and out of his head was how had Sebastian landed someone like Clary? Maybe Luke had presented them but even then, Jace knew what type of person Sebastian was. Clary didn't seem at all like his type. Even though this bothered him, it wasn't as bad as knowing that he didn't even know who the woman in front of him was.

"I never knew your name—your last name, that is," came out from his mouth.

Clary looked as confused by the question as he felt. "Yes," she replied. "Well, that's my name." She paused and looked over his shoulder before returning her eyes on him. "Does it—it doesn't bother you, right?"

Jace frowned at her words. "No. Should it?" Clary sighed while resting her forearms on the table, leaning forward. The waitress came then asking for their orders.

After she had gone, Clary responded. "No, I suppose not." She groaned, her face frustrated. "It's just," her voice went to a whisper and Jace had to lean in to hear her. "Luke and I . . . We aren't in the best of terms." She threw her head back, a humorless laugh escaping her lips. "That's probably an understatement." Jace's eyebrow quirked.

"But he's your . . . your uncle?" he asked and she nodded. "You've fought with him?"

"Countless of times." She smiled faintly, as if remembering something. "We just never saw eye-to-eye after I grew up, you know? It sucks because he was one of my best friends."

The image of Luke Morgenstern dressing dolls and playing tea party with a small Clary was something hard to imagine. The only image of Luke Morgenstern in his mind was of him with a suit. Even outside work hours.

Clary's giggle brought Jace back to the conversation. "You seem confused," she told him. "Have you ever met Luke?" Jace nodded and she reciprocated the action. "I thought so. You had the 'can it be?' look on your face."

"I can't see Luke in bermudas and a polo," he confessed. She giggled at his response, looking more at ease with him than before.

"Me neither. I don't think I've ever seen him in something than his suit and swimsuit." She laughed more openly at that and Jace joined her, the image of a swimsuit-clad Luke Morgenstern forever engraved in his mind.

Their waitress arrived again with their food, asking if they needed anything else. Jace declined after noticing her voice sounded too breathy. Maybe she was sick and losing her voice. After she walked away, he turned to find a scowling Clary. Jace frowned. "What?"

"She," Clary said pointing at the direction where the waitress had left, "was pushing her boobs in your face."

_Really?_

"Huh," he said with a shrug. "I didn't notice." Jace's panic from earlier began again. He _always_ saw and noticed. He had been so focused on Clary that hadn't seen the waitress at all.

He was always aware of the surroundings.

Clary's eyebrows rose in a silent question. "Anyways, where do you work? You sound important," she said taking a bite of her steak. Jace didn't know if she was kidding or not. Possibly not, but one could never know.

"I'm CEO of my family's corporation. Wayland Corporative." Jace wasn't sure what to expect. Eye widening? Choking on water? Certainly, he thought she would do one of those but she just nodded and continued eating.

"I see," she drawled. "Explains why you're last name is Wayland." Jace couldn't help but end up laughing at her conversional tone. Almost like he hadn't just told her he was the owner of one of the most powerful companies in the states!

Clary frowned not quite understanding his humor. Her eyes widened and she reached for her napkin, quickly dabbing on the sides of her mouth and . . . had she just dabbed the tip of her nose? Jace found himself unable to stop laughing.

"What?" she asked hysterically in a hushed tone. "Where do I have sauce? God, I thought my messy-eater days were over!" Jace guffawed at Clary, taking the napkin from her and setting it on the table, shaking his head. "What is it, then?"

"Your reaction," he said after he could speak properly, "was just so . . . mundane!" Clary's eyes narrowed.

"Is that good or bad?" she asked silently taking another bite of her steak.

Jace thought about that. If she had no idea of how great Wayland Corporative was, she would never find out of his secretary history, of his wife—wives—and of anything else that could possibly make Clary not go out with him. This was perfect.

Jace grinned looking at her with a twinkle in his eye. "It's most definitely good."

w.^.w

At the end of the night, Clary was more than happy that she had accepted Jace's invitation. She'd had an amazing time with Jace and had probably not laughed as much as she had with him in a long time.

Clary couldn't help but compare Jace to Sebastian throughout the night and asked herself more than once why she had ever dated him. Sebastian had rarely held doors for her, had never pulled a chair out for her, or made her laugh like Jace had. She concluded that she had been infatuated by the dark prince that was taking a liking for her.

But now there was an even sexier man who wanted her. She couldn't help the boost of self-esteem that she felt. She was desirable and wanted.

After dinner, Jace asked if she would mind walking around for a bit. She actually did—her feet were killing her—but she wanted to spend more time with him so she agreed with the idea. Clary wasn't walking a foot away from him anymore, but very close. Her shoulder would bump his arm every once in a while.

As they walked, they came across a local ice cream shop. Jace stopped walking and looked down at Clary with a smirk.

"You want one?" he asked her. Clary hadn't realized she had been staring at the double-scoop display.

She shrugged trying to cover her smile. "I guess."

When Jace opened the door for her, she couldn't help but feel like a teenage girl with her boyfriend. She felt like blushing and giggling and skipping towards the counter with Jace holding her hand.

Clary didn't do that, of course.

She ordered a coffee scoop with an Oreo scoop. Jace looked at her funny but shrugged before ordering boring vanilla and strawberry. Clary almost laughed at his selection. They resumed their walking while eating their ice creams.

Clary smiled before asking him what she had wanted to at the store. "Strawberry and vanilla? I know we're adults, but how boring can you be?" He smiled at her and took a lick of his strawberry scoop.

"As weird as you can be getting coffee and cookies."

"Touché," Clary remarked with a nod. When they finished their ice creams, Jace hailed a cab to Clary's apartment. They got in and made comfortable talk until they came to the front of Clary's apartment. Jace's BMW was still sitting there at the curve. He paid the cab driver and they both watched as he sped away.

Clary felt Jace following closely behind as she walked up to the front door of the building. She let him pass as she unlocked the door and went up the stairs to her apartment. The nervousness that had been there at the beginning of the evening was back, but Jace being there a few centimeters away, walking towards her door, was making it be intensified tenfold.

They arrived to her door faster than Clary would have wanted. She felt both relieved and pained. Relieved because Jace would be gone in a few seconds—or minutes. But at the same time, she didn't want Jace to leave. The date had been one of her best.

Clary turned around to give her thanks to Jace but the words died in her throat as she took in his hungry gaze. His eyes were dark, melted gold looking at her. His dark lips were parted and they looked utterly delicious. She felt some certain parts tingling and resisted the urge to cross her legs.

Jace took a step closer, never taking his eyes off Clary's. She wanted to step back, but didn't want to seem like a coward, so she held her ground. Taking in his white shirt, she got the sudden urge to run her hands through the buttons and then to rip them apart to run her hands over his ripped muscles and tattoos. Of course, she knew she would never be able to make that happen with the amount of strength that she possessed. Fantasies were fantasies, nonetheless.

He inched forward, his eyes becoming darker by the second. They were making her scared and . . . excited. Before she knew what she was doing, her hands found his shoulders, tracing the muscles with her hands over his shirt. He didn't move or make any sound of protest, so she continued her exploration. They began inching towards his neck, finally taking in the shock of skin-to-skin contact. She looked up and found him studying her face, his eyes hooded with lust. Absentmindedly, she scratched the nape of his neck . . . and that was enough to make him break.

His hands grabbed her hips, bringing her body to his right before their lips crashed. Even though his hands were rough against her, his lips were soft and wonderful. She grabbed his hair, pulling him to her harder. He groaned in agreement while biting her lip as she granted access to her mouth. Soon the soft and wonderful kiss had gone to frantic and erotic.

As they continued kissing, his hand traveled to her knee where he hitched it up to his hip. Clary wrapped her legs around his hips and Jace moved towards her door, holding her against it hard. She gasped as she felt his lust right where she wanted it most. He took her gasp as a compliment and began grinding on her.

Even though Clary was enjoying herself, she knew they couldn't go further. It would end up being a repeat of what neither of them could remember. And, as much as Clary hated to admit it, she wanted more.

Breaking through her cloud of lust, she pulled away from Jace's lips, pecking them once more before dropping to the ground. Looking up at him, she found him panting as hard as she was. Jace looked confused, but understanding at the same time.

"I had a great time with you today, Jace," she panted, a smirk on her face.

"I agree." He put his hand next to her head on the door and leaned in. "I think we should do this again sometime."

"Hmm," hummed Clary. "I'd love that." He grinned and leaned down, kissing her slow and soft. She felt herself sighing against his lips.

"Me too," he murmured.

* * *

><p><em>So... The date. This came so easily to me for some reason. I couldn't stop typing, seriously. This would had been up on Thrusday had it not been for the project, four essays and tests I had to do for Friday. *sigh* Sometimes, school sucks.<em>

_Okay, so, what'd you think? Camille and her mind-reading abilities? Simon and his housewife persona? Horny Clary and Jace? Yeah, those two are something, really._

_So, this goes to _SportyNo1_ for just being freaking awesomesauce. I love you, babe! ;) _BlondeHairBlueEyes14_, my beautiful sisteen-year old. ;) _camibandlover_ for word warring and her crazy talks and advice. ;) And _07XReflectional_ for just being there for me. :} I love all of you like, bunches and bunches! :D_

_Let's say this is an early Valentine's gift, yeah? Cheers! For taking risks. :} OH! I posted an Infernal Devices one-shot titled "Private Project". It would mean the world to me if you went to check that out. _

_Okay, enough ranting. Would mind leaving a lovely (and maybe extra long)..._

_Review? :D_


	9. Chapter Eight

***All the characters from The Mortal Instruments belong to Cassandra Clare and her incredible mind. Nothing will ever be owned by the author of this story. ;)***

_Musical Preferences:_

_Fascination Street- The Cure_

_Start the Shooting- A Day to Remember_

_She is Love- Parachutes_

Fair warning: Time has past. Not much, but it has. :)

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Eight<span>

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then she did that again. And again. She would have done it once more had it not been for someone nudging her arm accompanied by a loud squeal.

"Clary! Well, darling, I haven't seen you in ages!" the woman squealed. Clary put on a fake smile on her face as she hugged the woman rather awkwardly due to the bulge in her stomach. Uncle Luke may be old, but he still had the charm going. Clary tried not to gag at the thought of him with the twenty-year old in front of her.

"Maia . . . it's nice seeing you." Clary tried not choke at the tight hold the woman had on her.

Maia let her go and started dragging Clary inside the restaurant . "Well, what are you doing out here? The party's inside! Your grandmother is waiting!"

Clary wanted to be anywhere but there at the time.

Maia led her through the various tables and waitresses until they go tot the restaurant's private lounge. Clary tried not to roll her eyes at the predictability of her family.

Grandmother Amelia's birthday was always the biggest feast of the year.

"Everyone," Maia started, "Is already here. We were all just waiting for you!" Maia exclaimed as she went in before her. Clary laughed uneasily at Maia's enthusiasm; she was still trying to win the Morgenstern family over.

With a defeated sigh, she went in and saw everybody already seated and yapping about business or Amelia. It was always about those two things. In between the sea of blondes and brunettes, Clary found the only other redhead in the room, her dad sitting right next to her. Jocelyn saw her and smiled sympathetically towards her. She was as happy to be here as Clary was.

"Darling!" Clary heard from beside her. Plastering the fakest, and hopefully convincing, smile on her face, she turned to greet her grandmother.

"Hey, grandma," she said through clenched teeth. "Happy birthday!" she tried to exclaim as she hugged her and gave her the small gift bag containing her favorite—and super expensive—perfume.

"Oh, you shouldn't have, Clary. Your presence is enough," she said peaking at the bag and grinning softly as she noticed what was on the bag. _Sure, Amelia, _she thought sourly, _I bring no gift and I won't live it down until your next birthday._

"It was nothing, really," she said modestly. Truth was, it _was_ something. Clary got lucky she found the perfume a tad bit less expensive on eBay.

And Amelia would never find that receipt. Ever.

"Oh, darling. Thank you. You look gorgeous!" she exclaimed looking at Clary's intentionally classy outfit. She wouldn't be caught dead wearing something comfortable in the presence of Mrs. Forever-Young. Clary wasn't even sure if that was her Amelia's face at all. All the Botox was taking a toll on her face. "Your aunt, Amatis, is here, too! Sit down so we can eat."

Sure enough, Amatis was sitting there with The Hulk—her boyfriend, Jake—sitting next to her. She was always away, but like everyone, she knew better than to miss these events. Clary had nicknamed Jake "The Hulk" when he and Amatis first started going out, back when Clary was still in high school and they had just graduated. Amatis was, after all, just four years older than Clary.

Jocelyn and Clary didn't want to be mean, but Amatis was a petite woman, an inch or two taller than Clary. Jake, though, towered over her almost a foot and was—in better words—obese. He wasn't much good looking, either. They had always thought them as a funny-looking couple, all in all. Next to each other, they looked like a "10" or a "01". Depended on the way you saw them.

Not quite fond of them, she exchanged pleasantries with them before she went to greet the rest of the family. It didn't go without notice that Luke was not there with Maia. She shrugged it off and finished her hello's. When she got to the chair beside her mom and Jonathan, she sat down with a huff.

"Hey, hey, sis. Show happiness. Just three and a half more hours and we're free until next year," Jonathan murmured to her. Clary rolled her eyes and punched his arm playfully.

"Now, Clary. Still fighting with your brother?" Clary fought the urge to scowl as she turned around to meet the cold blue eyes of none other but Luke Morgenstern.

"Yes," Clary responded curtly. "You still fight with your brothers and sisters, as far as I'm concerned. What am I? Just twenty years younger. I think I can still fight with John." Clary felt a pinch on her knee from her mother's side, but she ignored it. She was currently busy in a glaring match with her uncle.

"Fair enough. Clary, you look beautiful than ever. I hope you're doing well." He nodded at her before his eyes flickered to Jocelyn's, John's, and Valentine's. "Jocelyn, Valentine, Jonathan . . . it's good to see you, too." He walked towards Maia without another word. Clary rolled her eyes and sat back on her chair. Their encounter had gone unnoticed by everyone else.

"Clary," Jocelyn began, "Why did you—"

"Mom, please," Clary interrupted her. "He's always trying to pick out a fight with me."

"Are you sure it's not the other way around?" asked Valentine with a smile. Clary rolled her eyes at him.

"Does it really matter? He did, after all, make one of my best friends into my aunt," she replied as she looked over at Maia. She was happily conversing with one of Clary's aunts.

The awkward silence that continued was soon broken by Jonathan as he draped an around behind her chair. "Oh, lighten up, Clare. You know that the cool thing about it is that you see her all the time."

Clary laughed humorlessly. "Nuh, uh. I avoid her to not talk to Luke. But, whatever."

About thirty minutes later, and while she was eating, her phone rang in her purse. Foregoing Amelia's disapproving glance, she got it out and excused herself to take the "business call".

Once she was outside and nowhere close to the restrooms, Clary answered her phone.

"_Hey, babe."_ Clary tried not to roll her eyes as a smirk formed on her face.

"Jace . . ." she scolded playfully. His rich laughter followed.

"_Clary, I meant. How are you?"_ Clary rolled her eyes and checked if anyone was listening before responding.

"Terrible," she responded dragging the word out.

"_Oh, really?" _he asked sounding incredulous. "_And why is that?"_

"I really hate my family." She sighed and leaned against the wall. "I wouldn't have come if it wasn't a mandatory meeting."

"_You make it sound like business."_ Clary shook her head. _If he only knew . . ._

"It is, basically. You come to bribe the boss with the best gift. If it suffices her needs, you're safe from a whole year of constant pleading and small favors."

"_Favors?" _he asked with curiosity. Clary almost laughed as she looked around to see if any one was looking for her.

"You want examples? Okay, well, once my dad got my grandmother this really nice watch. I mean, I would have worn it, and I don't like wearing watches. So, my grandmother sees this beautiful watch and she hates it. It's too 'plain'." Clary rolled her eyes as she remembered. "My dad got calls at midnight at least five times a month to go and flip her mattress because she couldn't sleep."

Jace laughed from the other side of the line. "_That's ridiculous! Your grandmother must be crazy!"_

"Oh, she is. I have a billion of stories that explain her insanity. Like, right at this moment, I'm losing favoritism because I got out of the lounge to talk to you. I hope you feel your guilt eating at you conscience when I have to go over to change her light bulb at six in the morning."

"_Of course not,_" he responded, "_because I'm about to save you from your horrible family reunion of hell."_

Clary rolled her eyes. "Sure, uh huh. That's not happening. Not while she-demon is alive."

"_Stay an hour at least. Then say that this call was for a teacher in-service meeting about a new grading system. The meeting is actually real, just not until a few months. You won't be completely lying."_

Clary began grinning. Amelia would never make her miss something from work. "You are a genius. Go to my place in an hour. Key's in the pot of flowers next to the door."

"_I'll be there. See you soon, babe," _he drawled. Clary couldn't even find it in herself to correct him. She loved when he called her that.

"See you."

w.^.w

"You like her a lot," he observed with a sly smirk once Jace had hung up. Jace rolled his eyes and looked at Camille.

"Why did you tell him, again?" he asked her impatiently. Camille rolled her eyes.

"Because I needed to tell someone and Magnus is my best friend, too. I trust him completely and he would never say a thing." Magnus nodded to show that her words were true.

"I don't like it, but you _are_ my boss. It would be pretty stupid of me to blabber to Aline about your affairs. I don't like her, anyways."

_Nobody does, _Jace thought sourly.

"Why are you even doing this, Cam? You have never, ever, encouraged me and I have understood. But . . . You want Clary and me to be together. I just don't understand why." Camille looked at him hard. Her green eyes traveled down his body and then up to his face again.

"Let me ask you this, Jace," she began. "Did I ever like Courtney?"

Jace crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. "No."

"Samantha?"

He shook his head again.

"Josie?"

"No . . ."

"Ashley?"

Head shake.

"Kaelie?"

Jace laughed. "Hells no."

"Taylor?"

Jace frowned. "Didn't you like her a little—?"

"No. Natalie?"

Jace smirked. "Nope."

Camille rolled her eyes. "That's less than ten percent of the woman you've fucked. See? Now, if you ask me if I like Aline I'll say no, too."

Jace raised an eyebrow as he felt a "but" coming. "But . . . ?"

"But," Camille sighed, "Clary is different. I like her a lot. Even before I met her and you told me about her she was perfect for you. You should see yourself. You are happier than you've ever been."

"It's true," Magnus interfered. "You are nicer to the employees—and I'm talking about myself. Also . . . You've had the same PA for the past three weeks without fucking her. You've been dating Clary for two weeks now." He sat back. "She's good for you."

Jace couldn't help but think of Magnus's words as he drove to Clary's. They had been calling and texting each other constantly since their first date and had gone on another date. He knew it was fast, but it just felt _right_ with Clary. Everything felt right.

He parked and made his way up to her door, finding the flower pot that had the key to her home. Bending down, he looked for the key until his hand was caked with dirt. He opened the door and left to wash his hands on her bathroom after leaving the key back in its place.

He made his way to the living room and saw the corner of something square sticking out from in between the couch and the cushion. Grabbing it, he realized it was a photo album. He grinned as he sat down and began flipping through the pages.

He was almost halfway through the album when he felt her watching him. He hadn't even heard the door opening and closing. Without looking up he commented on the album.

"You are so adorable," he said actually meaning it. He had never seen such a cute five year old before. Clary was always smiling on the pictures and making cute faces or biting her bottom lip. As creepy as he sure sounded, Clary was so fucking sexy!

"Why are you invading my privacy?" she asked in a stern voice, but when he looked up, he could see her fighting a smirk.

"I'm not. Something is left in the living room so people can look at it," he responded nonchalantly looking at little Clary in a swimsuit close to the beach.

"That," she pointed to the album, "was under the couch's cushion. How did you find it?"

"I was flipping the cushion," he said remembering his talk about Clary's crazy grandmother. "It was too hard until I noticed why." He grinned at her and she rolled her eyes and sat next to him. "Nice clothes, by the way."

And he wasn't kidding. Clary was wearing tight gray pants that flared at her knees, giving her the illusion of height. The heels also helped in that department. She wore a red camisole under a black blazer that accentuated her chest perfectly. She looked gorgeous, but it was just not like her.

She huffed as her heels flew from her hand and hit the floor hard. "I hate having to dress up for events I don't enjoy."

Jace looked up from a princess Clary in Halloween and regarded the present Clary with curiosity. "Why do you, then?"

She sighed. "You know the bullshit that everybody feeds each other? The 'I don't give a living fuck what people think of me'?" Jace nodded. "It's that—bullshit." She frowned and looked down at the album. "Everybody cares. Maybe not with certain people, but yes with others. I hate people that make you feel lesser than you are when you know that you are better." She shrugged. "Clothing is a conformist way of proving a point."

"Why dress up for people you hate, though?" Jace asked and pulled her to him by the waist.

She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. "Whenever I think of it, I get confused. Then I get frustrated, so I end up not thinking of my answer to that at all. What I know is that it's better than dressing like shit for people you don't like."

"You have proven your point." He caught her chin and tilted her face, giving her a soft, slow kiss. He could feel her smiling against his lips. Kissing her was so sweet, nice. He felt like it was just him and her and not tongues and lips and teeth clacking and dancing together. Breaking away with a chaste kiss, he rested his forehead against hers as she looked at him with dancing green eyes.

"Hey," she whispered breathless.

He smiled at the simple word. "Hey," he said back and watched her grin.

Matching her grin, they went back to looking at Clary's pictures. Her blushing . . . him laughing. She told him stories of every series of pictures and he listened and treasured every single one for unknown reasons.

By late evening, they had gone through the album twice and now were just sitting on the couch together, silent and lost in thought. Jace felt as if he had nothing to worry about. There was just something in him that told him everything would be okay. His arm around Clary felt right. Her head nuzzled into his neck felt common. There were no words needed, where with other people there were. Looking down at her, he put a stray lock of her hair behind her ear and she looked up and smiled at the sudden movement. Jace immediately knew how he felt.

He felt at home.

At home.

_Home . . . ? Damn! _he thought.

His eyes widened as he looked over at her owl clock, finally noticing the time. He had to go home, to Aline. He sighed angrily at himself for getting carried away.

Clary sat up with a frown and he smiled sadly at her. "I've gotta go," he told her and she nodded, her eyes trying to hide sadness. He kissed her deeply and then got off the couch, thinking that it wasn't enough, but that it would have to do.

She walked him to the door, and he noticed that they were taking small steps towards the door, prolonging their time together. He looked down at her as he opened the door, hesitating. She noticed this and smiled while pushing him out the door. "I understand," she said.

But she didn't. And once she caught him she would never understand.

Jace took the back of her neck roughly and brought her lips to hers, wanting to taste her once more before leaving. She smiled as they broke away and pushed him the rest of the way out.

He grinned at the closed door and walked down to his car, but once inside—as the understanding that he hadn't even remembered Aline at all during his time with Clary—made him forget about firing the engine.

He was fucked.

No, no.

He was more than fucked.

* * *

><p><em>The story is actually taking off from here. A lot of you already want them to fuck again. xD I find that so amusing.<br>It's late again. What a surprise. I've been moving these last two weeks and no internet and computers disconnected. -.- Disaster, in a few words.  
>I hope you guys enjoyed because, god, I enjoyed writing this. You guys don't have any idea.<br>_BlondeHairBlueEyes14, SportyNo1, camibandlover, and 07XReflectional_: I just want to thank you four for reminding me of how lucky I am to have you in my life. I am so, so blessed.  
>It would mean the world if you reviewed. :) Please?<em>

_Review?_


	10. Chapter Nine

***All the characters from The Mortal Instruments belong to Cassandra Clare and her incredible mind. Nothing will ever be owned by the author of this story. ;)***

_Musical Preference:_

_Heads Will Roll- Yeah Yeah Yeahs_

_I Hate Everything About You- Three Days Grace_

_A Message- Coldplay_

My favorite chapter, so far. :} You can thank me later. ;)

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Nine<span>

"Oh, Jace is here. I'll call you later." Aline laughed into the other line, her eyes fixed on Jace. "Will do. Buh-bye!" She hung up and threw the phone onto the couch. She gave him a sexy smile, but Jace couldn't really process it. "Hi, sweetheart." Her voice dripped sex.

"Aline," he acknowledge a little coldly. He sat next to her on the couch and started taking off his tie. He had just put it on inside his car to make it seem as if he had just come from the office.

"This tie again?" she asked grabbing it from him. "You wore it to work yesterday." She looked down at him with narrowed eyes. "If you need new ties, tell me. I'll get you some."

He tried to smile at her while getting his tie back. "No, I have enough. Just, on the rush, I got the same one."

She shrugged and dropped the tie on the floor. "Ah, okay."

He had to be more careful.

Jace sighed and sat back with his eyes closed. He was so exhausted. Who would have thought that keeping two relationships was such a hassle?

It didn't make sense since, back in high school, he could maintain four without breaking a sweat.

"Hmm," Aline hummed, suddenly too close to Jace, "you look so stressed." Her hands started trailing up his arms and up towards the buttons of his shirt. "I could maybe—" Jace felt her lips on his jaw. "—help you with that."Agile hands began unbuttoning his shirt and lips were against his lips. Any other day he would have responded, but he was thinking of _her_ hands. _Her_ lips . . .

He broke away from her and stood up. "Sorry, Aline. I'm . . ." He sighed exasperated, running a hand over his face, "I'm just too tired." Not even looking at her, he grabbed his tie from the floor and started towards the room.

"Jace," she spoke, her voice alarmingly serious. He stopped but didn't turn around. "We need to talk."

_Shit, _he thought.

Turning around slowly, he asked, "What about?"

His acting certainly deserved an Oscar.

Her golden robe fell into place as she stood up. Looking at her, he wondered if she spent her time sitting around all day fixing her makeup in different styles. She always looked ready to go. But she was never really going anywhere.

She crossed her arms over her chest while looking at the floor. "Jace, you haven't touched me in two weeks."

_Ah, great,_ he thought. _Act stupid, surprised, defensive . . .?_

He frowned. "I haven't?"

_Stupid it is._

"No, you have not." She rolled her eyes and walked up to him. "You're always out. At work, at special events, with Camille . . ." she paused and laughed humorlessly. "If I didn't trust you, I'd say you were cheating on me."

_And here comes surprised._

"Cheating on you?" He widened his eyes for effect. "Aline, I've been working on this new project. We're running out of time and, right now, my company is my first priority. You're right after it." _Or not . . ._

She pouted. "But it shouldn't be that way. Your family—me, your wife—should be first in your list of priorities."

_And defensive couldn't be left out._

He glared down at her. "If I left my company by itself, I would not be able to pay for your little gifts, okay? There would be no money and you would stop living like a queen. And, sweetheart," he sneered and cupped her cheek with a scowl on his face, "we both know you can't stand the thought of that. Now, if you're not too busy, make me a sandwich, yeah?"

Aline glared at him and snatched his hand away from her face. "Be that way, asshole." Jace watched her go and almost laughed out loud when he saw her walking right into the kitchen.

He couldn't even disagree with Aline. He _was_ an asshole.

With a smirk, he turned around and kept walking towards his room. His thoughts were already focused on his redhead once again.

Just like he liked them to be.

w.^.w

"Why is this decaf? I'm pretty sure I asked for regular."

Clary looked over at Simon and Alec. They were looking everywhere but at Isabelle. Rolling her eyes, Clary took the coffee from Isabelle and set it in front of her.

"The guys and I thought that you could use less caffeine in your diet." Alec bumped her elbow and jerked his head towards Simon. Clary turned and almost laughed at his panicked expression. Isabelle was glaring daggers at him.

"This was your idea?" she asked pointing at the coffee. Rolling her eyes, she grabbed the coffee and made as if to take a drink. "It's your loss at the end of the day, just so you know."

Simon's eyes popped and he changed his coffee with hers. "Huh, they gave me regular. I asked for decaf. I suppose it was a mistake."

Isabelle sat back on her seat with a smug smile. She put a hand on Simon's knee and squeezed. "Yeah, that's right." Alec groaned.

"I do not need mental images, idiots," he protested. Isabelle laughed.

"What mental images, Papa Smurf?"

Alec glared at his sister. "This sweater enhances my eyes." He pointed at his sky blue, v-necked sweater.

"You're _so_ gay," exclaimed Isabelle and laughed along with everyone else. Clary took a sip of her coffee as she looked around the shop, perusing the different types of people until her eyes fell on a peculiar-looking man who seemed fairly familiar to her.

Definitely good looking, he wore fit, dark-washed jeans with a nice, red button-down shirt. Designer, for sure. He looked Asian, his black hair was styled up in a sexy faux-Mohawk, and his left ear was covered in multi-colored earrings. But his green eyes were striking. They almost looked like he had accented them to pop out. And the weirdest thing was that they were looking at their table.

Well, at Alec, to be completely honest.

Trying not to smirk, she nudged Alec's arm and grabbed her coffee. Once he looked at her, Clary murmured, "Sexy man, two o'clock. Looking your way, Papa Smurf."

She had tried to make Alec inconspicuous while looking, but as soon as the words were out of her mouth, Isabelle and Simon turned around to track down the hot man.

"Damn," sighed Isabelle, "he is sexy. But, he's definitely giving Alec elevator eyes." The man, Clary realized, was smirking as he sipped his coffee. Isabelle frowned and looked at Clary. "Do we know him? He looks familiar."

"I was thinking the same, but I can't really place him," she said, thinking hard of when they could have met him.

"Well, maybe you can ask him since he's coming over," Simon said as he took a sip of his coffee. Clary looked over, and sure enough, he was walking towards their table. His eyes were still on Alec.

Glancing at Alec, Clary saw a look of awe on his face. His lips were moving and Clary thought he was saying, "What a man . . ." but she couldn't be sure. She giggled under her breath.

Suddenly, Green-Eyed Wonder was standing by their table, still gazing suggestively at Alec. "Sorry to interrupt, but I couldn't help but notice your brilliant blue eyes. I'm Magnus," he said with a wink. Alec's cheeks reddened slightly.

"Alec," he introduced himself. Then he looked at the rest. "This is Simon, Isabelle, and Clary." They all acknowledged him, except Isabelle who looked deep in thought.

"Pleasure to meet you," he said in general. His eyes then focused on Alec once more. "I was wondering if—"

"Ah-ha!" exclaimed Isabelle while snapping her fingers. She pointed at Magnus who looked at her curiously. "You throw parties! That's how we know you!"

Magnus grinned. "I am known by my _parties_."

"Oh," Clary said, her memory finally catching up. "You threw _The_ party." She grinned and went into the happy-thoughts part of her brain.

"Forgive her," she heard Isabelle telling Magnus. "She's thinking of the Golden God she managed to bed on your last party."

Clary came back to roll up a napkin and throw it at Isabelle in the midst of her giggles. "Shut up, Iz." She looked up at Magnus who was studying her closely with a knowing smile.

"Well," he exclaimed in his silky voice, "I'm glad you enjoyed my party so much. Enjoyed an understatement to some," he added with a wink at Clary. "Now," he said looking at Alec, "to what I came to. Let's go out."

Alec looked baffled. "Uh, wha—"

"Great!" Magnus grinned and grabbed Alec's arm, dragging him to stand up. He took his hand and walked to the door, Alec following. "It was great to meet you," he said and then was out. Simon shook his head and took a sip of his coffee.

"It was about time Alec got laid," he commented.

w.^.w

She watched him enter, his dark eyes immediately squinting as he looked for her, she knew. He looked amazing and Camille once again asked herself why she was waiting to take him home with her.

Finally, he spotted her and a smile spread across his face. His blonde hair jumped with every one of his steps, the steps bringing him closer to her. He stopped in front of her, stooped down, and planted a kiss on her cheek before plopping into the seat in front of her.

"I love this place," he said looking around. "It's perfect." Jonathan grinned at her and Camille couldn't help but smirk.

They had kept in touch since the first time they met.

She leaned into the table and whispered, "It's my favorite place." He blew out air before grabbing her hand.

"You are my perfect girl, Cammy." He smirked at her and squeezed her hand. That type of comments always made her want to blush. She rolled her eyes and looked anywhere but at him.

"I already ordered our pizza. It should be here any moment now," she said, looking at him once again. He smiled and nodded, his eyes moving to where the Go-Karts were waiting. Camille rolled her eyes. "We're definitely riding them once we're done."

Jonathan smirked and leaned into her ear. "The thought of you riding something really turns me on," he whispered. She looked up with stunned eyes, big grin splashed on her face.

"You turned on sort of turns me on," she whispered.

Jonathan chuckled. "It's kind of awkward talking like this in the place where I carried Clary like a sack of potatoes when we were little." Camille raised her eyebrow.

"Isn't that the whole point? Tainting the innocent?" Jonathan swallowed.

"Well, if that's how you see it—"

"Order thirty-one. Extra-supreme large pizza. Extra cheese and mushrooms. Enjoy," interrupted a monotone voice as a pizza appeared in front of them. Jonathan looked at it in wonder.

"Extra cheese and mushrooms . . . ?" he asked uncertainly.

Camille frowned. "Yeah, it's my favorite. If you don't like it, you better suck it u—"

He looked up and grabbed both of her hands. "Marry me. Now."

She smirked. "I'm not answering until I see the rock," she said jokingly.

Jonathan took his phone out. "I need to call mom. She is going to give me her wedding ring and—" he stopped as he frowned at a text in his phone.

"Hey," Camille began, "what's up?" Jonathan shook his head.

"Nothing. It's just . . . Clary has been going out with someone but she just won't say who it is. I'm worried. I don't want her to end up hurt again." Camille bit her lip with her head cocked to the side.

"Wait, are you telling me you don't know who Clary is going out with?" Jonathan looked up at her, frown still in place.

"No. She said she wanted to wait until it was more public. But I just—" he cut himself up as he saw Camille's expression. "You know."

She nodded. "Yeah, I know."

"Who?"

Camille frowned. "Are you sure I'm supposed to be telling you this?"

"Well," he said with a scowl, "she told you and I don't know why—"

She scoffed, interrupting him. "She didn't tell me. Clary's going out with my best friend." Jonathan stared at her for a long while, probably thinking of who her best friend was.

"Wait, pretty-boy is your best friend?" he said with a frown.

Camille bit her lip to keep her smirk at bay. "Pretty-boy?"

"Yeah, the blonde one that was with you at the auction." Camille laughed at Jonathan's serious face.

"Oh, God, yes. Pretty boy. That's him," she said, barely containing her laughter.

Jonathan smiled faintly. "Clary looks happy. If he hurts her, though, you can't hold it to me when he isn't pretty-boy anymore."

Camille grinned. "Don't worry. I'll bring the shovel as long as you bring the duct tape."

w.^.w

"Hello, Sally. Your boss asked me to come?" Clary questioned the secretary. The older woman barely looked up as she nodded.

"Yes, he did. He's busy right now, so why don't you sit there and wait for him?" Clary tried hard not to roll her eyes as she sat on the uncomfortable chairs outside of his uncle's room. Fortunately, her phone buzzed before she could start thinking of escape routes.

_**I didn't see you at all yesterday. I need to see you today.**_

Clary grinned at Jace's text and began typing.

_**I'll need to see you right after this meeting. When and where?**_

Luke's door opened right when Jace's next text appeared.

_**Will it take more than an hour? If not, my place in an hour. You still remember where it is, I assume.**_

Clary could just see the smirk on his face.

_**I could be there in twenty. And, yes, I do remember.**_

A young woman came out of the room. She was model-gorgeous with her tight business suit and perfect hair and makeup. She paused at Sally's just as Clary's phone buzzed again.

_**I'll see you in twenty, then. Can't wait.**_

_**Me neither.**_

She typed her response as Luke came out of the room. Shutting her phone off, she made her way towards where he was seeing the business woman off.

"It was certainly a _pleasure_ to _talk _with you, Mr. Morgenstern," said Mrs. New York. Clary raised her eyebrows at her breathy voice. She also caught Sally rolling her eyes.

_No . . ._

She looked over at Luke who looked smug. "I will be expecting a call from you soon, Mrs. Maxwell." Clary's blood boiled as she charged into the office. She wasn't far enough to not hear her response.

"You will most definitely hear from me, sir."

_Son of a bitch._

Clary sat on one of his chairs, her back to the door. Her foot was tapping wildly against the floor and her eyes were glaring at Luke's typical green lantern. She took a sniff to confirm what she already knew.

_Yup, it smells like sex in here._

Clary waited patiently to hear the sound of the door closing. She had never been so happy to know that Luke's room was soundproofed.

She heard the tapping of his massively expensive shoes as he walked into his office. The door closed softly behind him and he begin with his sugarcoated voice, "Clary, dear, it's wonderful to see yo—"

The chair was knocked back as she stood up with all the force she could manage. She spun around and leveled a glare at him. He looked stunned and Clary made an exasperated noise while looking at him incredulously.

"Why am I here, Luke?" she asked in a controlled voice. It was hard trying to keep her control.

"I—" he began, feeling lost for a moment. "I wanted to make peace with you."

Clary stared at him for a few seconds, waiting for the punch line. After realizing how serious he was, she snorted and burst out laughing. She would stop and then take another look at Luke's face and begin all over again.

"Clary, I'm serious. I don't want to keep fighting—"

"No," she growled at him, her laughter dying there. "You are anything but serious about this." Luke had a baffled expression on his face.

_The motherfucker,_ Clary thought bitterly.

"I don't think I understand—"

Clary smiled at him with pity. "No, you don't." Her smile turned into a scowl in milliseconds. "If you fucking understood, you wouldn't have had the fucking decency to try to 'make peace' with me."

Luke glared at her. "Clarissa, that is no language for a lady—"

"Cut your shit, Luke," she growled. "When a fucking lady is fucking pissed, she fucking cusses. We are not in your shitty times anymore. Besides, you are nowhere near a fucking parental figure to tell me what to do and what not to do."

"I don't understand where your anger is coming from," he said simply.

Clary's eyebrows rose. "Do you not remember the last time you wanted to 'make peace' with me?" Luke hesitated and Clary knew she had him. "You promised—_you fucking promised—_that you would not treat women like toys. Y—you fucking _swore_ that you would devote yourself to your wife." She wiped at the angry tears that began blinding her vision. "Next thing I know, I find you pounding y—your _shit_ into my best friend."

Luke was staring at her guiltily.

_Yeah, fucker, _she thought. _For once feel something._

"You have no fucking idea how it feels," she whispered.

"Clary, I—I," he began taking a few steps towards her but Clary held her hand up making him stop.

"Shut the fuck up and don't come close to me. I'm not fucking done." She sniffed and wiped her tears into her pants. "So, then, today, I get your call. I don't know what to think, but there is nothing interesting to do but come here. So, _I come. _I _fucking came, _Luke! I could have just ditched your sorry ass." Clary gritted her teeth to prevent herself from sobbing. "I'm sitting out there, you know, actually _waiting_ for you to be done with your fucking client."

Luke stared stonily at her, no emotion in his aging face.

"Or," she said calmly, "should I say 'waiting for you to be done _fucking _your client'?"

"_That's enough,_" Luke snapped at Clary with glaring eyes. "I won't let you disrespect me in that way."

"Oh?" she asked surprised. "But I'm not being disrespectful. I'm only telling the _truth_."

"Your truth is mistaken, I'm afraid, then," he said calmly, rubbing a hand on his forehead.

"Uh-huh, sure," she said dismissively. "I'm definitely mistaken because the _whore_ that left your office _braless_ did not just leave her bra on the corner of your desk." She emphasized her statement by pointing at his desk.

Luke's eyes popped out comically. She would have laughed had she not been emotionally tired.

"Move away from the door. I'm leaving," she told him while picking up the chair she'd dropped.

He sighed and walked towards his desk. Clary moved to the door, sniffling and wiping her tears. She just needed to get out of the room. Clary rested her forehead against the cold wood of the threshold before turning around to stare emotionless into Luke's eyes.

"You're going to end up alone in this world, Luke. Just think about that, will you?"

And then she left, closing the door with a bang.

w.^.w

"_You should tell her. That's all I'm saying,_" said Camille through the phone.

Jace sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Cam, you think she'll be okay with it? I highly doubt she would help me cheat on my wife with her. There are women like that, but Clary isn't one of them."

Camille was silent for a long time before speaking. "_You still want to stay with Aline?_" Jace groaned.

"I don't know, Cam. This stage with Clary may be temporary. We've only been dating for two weeks. I really like her. I like her a lot, but . . . I'm just so confused." Camille screeched from the other line.

"_What the hell, asshole? You've told me how different stuff with Clary is. You talk nonstop about how _right_ it feels! You almost sound like a girl, for fuck's sake!"_

"Look, she's coming over in a few. I'll make up my mind by then," he said looking at the clock.

"_Fine, fine. Just think about how you've changed since you've been with Clary, okay? Just think about that. Where are you staying?_"

"My apartment. Aline and I fought the day before yesterday. I don't plan on going back in a few," he said with a frown.

"_You need the days to think. Anyways, you and I both have to go, pretty-boy,_" she said with a laugh. Jace snorted.

"Nice nickname." He looked over at the door as he heard knocking. "I've gotta go, Cam. Clary's here. Bye." He hung up without waiting for an answer and turned off his phone before leaving it in his drawer.

Opening the door, he had a cocky greeting at the tip of his tongue when Clary barreled into him, sobbing. Jace began stroking her back, a little panicked to see her like this.

"Hey, Clary, baby . . . What's wrong?" he asked her patiently. She began sobbing harder into his shirt and Jace decided to get out of the hallway. He picked her up and closed the door. Walking towards the sofa, he sat down and held Clary against him, gently rocking her, willing her to calm down.

"Ho—how cou—could he? He—he—" she was interrupted by another set of heart-wrecking sobs.

"Shh," murmured Jace in her ear, rubbing her back and running his hand through her hair. "It's okay. You're here with me. Everything is okay."

After a few minutes, Clary's cries had subdued to the occasional sniffle. Jace knew he had to ask now before she would want to change the subject.

"Clary, what happened? I need to know." She looked up at him, eyes completely swollen and cheeks red. He kissed her forehead and her cheeks before waiting for an answer.

"I—I was outside his office and he—he was fucking a woman—and Maia is at home with a baby—and he was there—just fucking another woman—" she paused and sniffled as a few tears escaped her eyes. Jace caught them and wiped them off her face.

"Baby, you're not making sense. Explain, please," he asked her, hoping the story was not the one he had imagined by what she had just said.

"Luke. I—I went to see Luke. He's married to M—Maia, and he was fucking an—another woman in his office. A—and he wanted peace! Motherfucking peace!" She shook her head and buried it on his neck. Jace didn't know what to do. He sat there tense, wishing that he had heard wrong.

"Clary, Luke is cheating?" he asked for specification.

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "He has always cheated! Since I was little, he—he's always cheated. And, and I hate it!" She sobbed and rubbed her eyes. "I hate it so much, Jace." A hiccup escaped her mouth. "So much."

Jace had a knot tied to his throat. He couldn't speak and didn't know what to do next. All he knew was that if he didn't want to lose Clary, she would have to live oblivious to his real life.

And Jace knew, without a doubt, that he wanted the girl in his arms in his life infinitively.

"Jace?" Clary asked and he looked at her. She was staring at him with those big, bloodshot eyes. "I like you so much, Jace. So, so much." Her hand traveled along his jaw line, discovering his light stubble there.

_I should have shaved, _he thought dumbly.

Without further notice, she pressed her lips to his hard, almost as if their time together was being counted.

And for all Jace knew, maybe it was.

He kissed her back, crushing her more to his body than she already was. She sat up and straddled his lap. Jace could only taste her salty tears and general sweetness. Her hands trailed down his chest, resting on the wet spot that contained Clary's tears.

"I ruined this," she said hotly, breaking their kiss. "You should get rid of it."

"I will," he murmured against her lips. Clary shook her head with a smile. Suddenly, Jace felt her hands under his shirt and he got the message.

He helped her with his shirt, and once it was off his head, Clary took his lips once again. He felt her fingers tracing his tattoo lines, scratching lightly, and it nearly drove him crazy. He needed to feel her, too.

Testing, he brushed his fingers on the skin in between the waistband of her pants and the hem of her shirt. She shivered, but kissed him harder, so he kept going until his hands covered her ribcage. Her skin was warm and soft and Jace couldn't get enough of it. It made him want to take her right there in the couch.

His actions froze instantly.

He didn't want to just fuck her again. He wanted it to be special, ironically. Besides, Clary wasn't in the right state of mind. If they did have sex there, she may regret it in the morning, and then they'd be back to square one.

"Clary . . ." he murmured, trying to break away from her. She wouldn't let him, though. "Clary, babe, we need to stop."

She pulled back instantly. "What?" she asked breathlessly. Jace looked at her swollen lips and couldn't help but kissing her again.

"We need to stop," he said after breaking away. "We can't go further with you like this," he told her softly. She looked at him hard.

"But . . . I want you," she said, and Jace could hear the sincerity in her words.

He sighed. "I want you, too, Clary." He rested his forehead against hers. "You have no fucking idea how much."

"Why are you being logical?"she asked him softly.

He stroked her cheek lovingly. "I don't want to do something that we may not be ready for." He looked down at his pants and added sheepishly, "Emotionally."

She giggled and buried her face in his neck. "Can I at least spend the night?" Jace squeezed her tight.

"Anytime," he told her while picking her up to take her to bed. After helping her on the bed, he looked at his lower half of his body with annoyance. "I have to take care of something. I'll be right back."

Clary giggled and snuggled into the bed. "Okay."

Once Jace took care of business, he went back into the room to find Clary asleep in his bed, soft, cute snores coming out of her mouth. He walked to his drawer to get ready for bed when he saw his phone. Checking on Clary once more, he took his phone and turned it on, calling the only person he could.

"_What?_" Camille sounded annoyed from the other line.

"I can't tell her," he stated emotionlessly.

"_What happened?_" she asked curiously.

"Camille," he groaned, not ready to answer her question.

He looked back at Clary, resting soundly and stress-free. He wanted to see her like that every day. He just wanted to be able to _see_ her every day. Every day of the rest of his life.

"Camille . . . I can't lose her."

* * *

><p><em>I had a rush of inspiration. I posted Thursday morning, and this was done Friday night. I haven't had this much inspiration in months, and I'm loving it so, so much.<br>So, as you can see, Jace is confused and he sure as hell should be. -.- And those of you who wanted sex, well, blame Jace on this one. He was telling me he just couldn't. I mean, he had good reasons, but I'm sure a lot of you will want to slap him just like Clary and I do. ;)  
>This is for <em>BlondeHairBlueEyes14 _who still hasn't read like three of my chapters._ SportNo1_ because she soo didn't review my last chapter correctly. -.- _camibandlover _because SHE'S ALIVE! WHOO! xD And _07XReflectional _because we totally made the fucking best THG shirts in the world today! :D  
>:DD I updated super early considering my updating issues. You guys should give me a gift… like a...<em>

_Review? ;)_


	11. Chapter Ten

***All the characters from The Mortal Instruments belong to Cassandra Clare and her incredible mind. Nothing will ever be owned by the author of this story. ;)***

_Musical Preference:_

_High and Dry- Radiohead_

_According to Plan- I Love You but I've Chosen Darkness_

_Strawberry Swing- Coldplay_

THIS CHAPTER, OH, THIS CHAPTER! :}

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Ten<span>

_She could see the dark red in her eyelids, telling her the sun was out. Her eyes didn't open, not yet._

Clary sighed as she felt him curling her body closer to his. She would have loved to say she was rested, but the truth was that her eyes felt raw, even when she hadn't even opened them. All the crying was quickly catching up to her. She snuggled deeper into Jace's side, not wanting to leave at all.

Her cheek vibrated with a soft chuckle from Jace and he smoothed down her hair. Clary wanted to die at the feel of his fingers untangling her hair. They were magical, weaving through all her problems and fixing them as they passed b—

"Clary? I know you're awake," he grumbled, still half asleep. She giggled.

"I'm sleeping. Shush." She sighed contently into his warm body and tried to go back to the land of dreams. His fingers, though, interrupted her as they began looking for spots to tickle.

Clary's eyes snapped open as she grabbed his hand. Her glare was met by his amused gaze. "Don't you dare tickle me, Jace," she whispered.

He smirked. "What happens if I do?" he asked coyly while kissing her neck softly. Clary shuttered.

"Uh, well, I'll get, uh, angry?" she ended up asking. Jace grinned down at her.

"It's late and, baby? You need to wake up," he whispered in her ear. She turned to look at him with a smile. "I can't think of another way to wake you up."

"If I'm correct, it's Saturday and I don't work. Besides," she said, "there are _plenty_ of ways to wake me up." She smirked up at his stunned eyes. "You just want to use the way that annoys me."

Jace grinned and his hands went to her waist. The tips of his fingers explored her ribcage over her shirt. "I do love annoying you," he whispered against her ear before lightly scratching her ribs. The squeals he acquired were incredibly high-pitched but he was hearing music compared to her sobs from the night before.

"Jace—" she gasped out before laughing and squirming under his grasp. "Jace, stop—_stop!_"

"Hmm," murmured Jace. "Nah." Clary's hands were trying desperately to push him away, but her force couldn't compare to that of Jace's. Soon, the comforter was on the floor and Clary was pinned down on the bed by Jace. He had both of her hands trapped over her head. He was smiling down at her with such glee and adoration that Clary couldn't help but grin up at him.

The smile fell from his face as he bent down and kissed her softly, savoring her. Clary hated that her hands were trapped when all she wanted was to hold him to her and run her hands through his abs and tattoos and—

She was interrupted from her heated internal conflict by Jace's breath on her face. "What are you thinking?" he asked her before taking her mouth once again.

"I want to touch you," she panted against his mouth. Jace chuckled and let go of her hands. Clary sighed relieved and kissed him again, her hands traveling the expanse of his naked torso. She flipped them over so she was on top of him. His hands traveled all of her back, fingers dancing. They made her shutter every time they passed a sensitive nerve.

She left his lips as hers traveled down his jaw, nipping and kissing open-mouthed. She sat up and looked down at his tattoo, the black and white jellyfish covering his left side.

"Do you know how many times I've fantasized about running my fingers through each tentacle—or whatever they're called?" she asked him, looking at his lust-filled eyes.

"No," he grumbled, his fingers dancing around her waist.

"Yeah? Well, me neither," she responded as her fingers danced and scratched at it. Her eyes glanced lower and she frowned. "Where's the other one?"

He frowned. "Other one?"

"Yeah," she whispered, running her hands through his six-pack. "You have another tattoo. Words. I just don't remember where it is . . ."

He smiled a bit melancholic. "It's in my lower back. And it's Latin. _Ego vixit vivit__._" He sighed. "It means 'I lived alive.'"

Clary smiled softly. "I like it," she whispered, bending down to kiss Jace.

"You do?" he asked surprise after breaking away from her. "You don't think it's cheesy? Corny?" Clary laughed against his lips.

"No. It's sincere and deep." She smiled. "I like it," she repeated.

Jace smiled and stroked her cheek. "That was my grandfather's mantra. He said it right before dying." Clary noticed his eyes and his smile looked sad. She saw that his grandfather was very special to him. With a pang, she realized he knew a lot of her family and she knew nothing of his. She decided it wasn't a good time to bring this issue up.

She bent down to kiss him again, lingering on his lips before pulling herself up. "He was a wise old man," she whispered. He smiled and changed positions with her, pinning her to the bed once again.

"You're wonderful," he said to her and Clary could feel the sincerity of his words. It made her almost ache and it was obvious what was happening.

She was falling for him.

She was falling in love with Jace very, _very_ hard.

Clary didn't know when it began or how, but she knew that she had never felt so strongly about someone before. Looking into Jace's gold eyes, she could see what she had always wanted a man's eyes to have when looking at her. It was exactly how Valentine looked at Jocelyn, how Simon looked at Isabelle.

They looked at them as if they were the best thing they had ever found in the world.

Tears prickled on the back of her eyes and she tried to hold them back so she wouldn't scare Jace. He frowned though and bent down to cup her cheek.

"What's wrong, baby?" he asked her quietly.

She looked up at him with a smile and shook her head. "I'm just so happy you're with me."

_More like overjoyed, enthused, so-fucking-content-like-oh-my-god_ . . .

He smiled at her and Clary could have sworn it looked kind of sad, but she could have been imagining it. "I'll be here as long as you still want me," he whispered. Clary giggled.

"I don't think I could ever not _want_ you," she said. He shook his head and kissed her cheek.

"Always keep that in mind, yeah?" he asked her against her ear.

She grabbed his face and made him look at her. Smiling, she said, "I'll try. But, no promises," she teased.

He got a strange glint in his eye before smiling at her again. "What are you doing today?"

Clary frowned playfully. "Well, it's Saturday, and I have to go apartment shopping every Saturday."

He sat up and looked at her with an eyebrow cocked. "Apartment shopping? Is that a new garment that I've never heard of?" Clary rolled her eyes.

"No, I go out to shop for stuff that would look good in my apartment. It's a lot of fun. My friend Alec is coming, I believe," she told him with a smile.

Clary ran her hands through his hair while he looked pensive. She was shaking her head at how ridiculously attractive he looked by doing something so mundane when he spoke.

"Well, let's get ready. We don't want to be late for apartment shopping. I need to take you to your place so you can change and then make it in time." He sighed and got off from on top of her looking for a shirt to put on. Clary watched him curiously.

"You want to go shopping with me," she stated.

Sebastian had always made some stupid excuse to not go with her.

He frowned. "Yeah." Clary sat up in bed with a small smile.

"Why?"she asked softly.

Jace regarded her carefully as he pulled on a pair of jeans. "I don't feel like letting you go just yet. Will that be a problem?"

"Not at all," she said with a grin as she slipped off the bed. He was standing in front his dresser looking at himself as he slipped on his watch. Clary stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his torso, resting her chin on his shoulder. He looked at her with a smile through the mirror and she couldn't help but reciprocate it. "Thank you."

He turned around and held her against him. "Anytime." Smiling, she reached up and brought her lips to his. She felt him smiling against her lips and ended up questioning herself about the last time she had felt so happy. "I mean it, Clary," he said after they broke apart.

"I'm holding you to that," she said with a giggle.

w.^.w

"She's lovely, boss," he said with a grin.

"Camille?" asked Jace looking over at her. "Come on, don't say stuff like that in front of her. It gets to her head." He pointed at his head as Camille hit his hand playfully.

Magnus rolled his eyes. "I meant Clary. She's lovely. We're onto something with her. Well," Magnus added with a wink, "you are."

"When did you ever meet her?" Jace asked with a frown.

"Last week. Oh, I'm _jealous _of her hair! Do you know if it's natural?" Magnus sat quite flamboyantly onto one of Camille's couches.

Jace gave Magnus a calculative gaze. "I've met her mother. Same color, so, yes. Natural. How'd you meet her?"

"She and her friends were having coffee at Perkin's and Shawn's. One of her friends was beyond gorgeous. Well, I went to ask him out and he introduced the redhead as Clary." Magnus had a dreamy look on his face and Jace almost laughed at him.

"So?" asked Camille. "There is more than just one Clary in all of New York." She got up and went to the adjoining kitchen for a glass of water.

Magnus laughed loudly. "Oh, but I'm not done! One of them, a gorgeous black-haired girl said they'd gone to my last party, the one you were at, boss. Then she proceeded to tell me the sweet ginger got a, I quote, 'Golden God,' in bed." He chuckled while shaking his head. They could hear Camille's laughter, probably at the nickname.

Jace rolled his eyes as Camille came back in the room with the glasses of water. They each got one as Jace looked at Magnus.

"You won't tell her anything if you see her, will you?" he asked, leaving no choice of disagreement.

Magnus regarded him quietly, just staring at Jace. It was uncomfortable for him, but he didn't look away from Magnus's green eyes. Finally, he spoke, "I don't lie to nice people. I won't tell her, but if she asks, I won't lie."

Jace made up his mind to not let Clary think he could be, in any way, cheating.

"Fair enough," he told Magnus and his eyes widened. He looked at Camille before looking back at Jace.

"Boss, she likes you. A whole lot. When you were mentioned, her face lit up and transformed her. She looked as if she had just had sweet, slow, gentle, fulfilling sex. And I know, for a fact, that you haven't fucked her."

Jace excused himself then to use the restroom. As much as he loved talking about Clary, he hated to think of "fucking" her. He knew she didn't want that and, hell, he was ready to please her in every single way. More than he had ever wanted to please Kaelie or Aline. In all truth, he had never, ever, wanted to please them. It was usually the other way around, and he was perfectly fine with that.

But now he wanted the satisfaction of giving to someone he cared about.

And Lord only knew how much he fucking cared about Clary.

Jace knew he was in deep shit in the Feelings department. He was feeling things he shouldn't be feeling in the first place. It was bad, perfect, unethical, good . . . His brain was having such a hard time understanding them even though there was no point whatsoever in it. He was supposed to let go and feel. Feel what his heart and mind wanted him to feel.

But if he let that happen, he would fall in love with Clary.

Part of him knew that it was too late to try and bottle those emotions. He knew they were out in the open. But the other, stubborn part of him told him that it wasn't possible. He already loved someone else and that was that.

_Yeah, right,_ he thought to himself as he left the bathroom and walked back to the living room. He stopped before reaching, trying to see if he could eavesdrop on anything interesting.

"—that John is so protective of her. He is just great," Jace heard Camille telling Magnus.

"What is he trying to protect her from? She's not six anymore, you know," Magnus told Camille.

There was a long silence where Jace figured Camille was putting her thoughts together. "Jonathan doesn't want Clary to be hurt again."

"Again, you say?" asked Magnus sadly.

"Yes. And, god, I had to lie to him and tell him Jace is a nice guy and would never hurt her. But . . . it's far more possible she'll end up bad after they actually find out how they feel about each other."

Jace closed his eyes tightly and pinched the bridge of his nose. Of course he knew this. He just didn't understand what Camille meant by "how they feel about each other". Was he that easy to read? And she couldn't feel so strongly about him, could she?

"Camille . . ." Jace heard Magnus sigh. "She loves him. I know it. I saw it on her face. She may not know it herself, but it's far too obvious."

_Fuck . . ._

Camille laughed quietly. "Have you even seen Jace? He's smothered by her. If he doesn't love her yet, he's on his way. I believe he does but hasn't realized it yet, though. He can be pretty dense."

Magnus chuckled. "I bet both are. She seemed pretty stubborn herself."

"Oh, yeah. She definitely is," Camille said. Jace couldn't listen to anymore so he came out with his best poker face. There was a quiet rustle as they both sat up on their own seats. Jace wanted to roll his eyes at them, but he had to appear unknowledgeable to their conversation.

"I'm leaving guys. I need to meet with someone right now," he said motioning towards the door.

Camille and Magnus stood up. "Okay, sure. I'll walk you out."

"See you tomorrow, boss," said Magnus with a soldier salute. Jace rolled his eyes and nodded at him with a small smile. Camille pushed him out of the living room and into the foyer. Looking back at Camille, he opened the door.

"Bye, Golden God." Camille smirked. "I'll catch up with you tomorrow."

Jace chuckled. "Sure." He walked past the threshold and almost started walking down the hallway when he felt a hand on his arm holding him back. When he looked back, he saw Camille's green eyes with full determination.

"I know you heard," she whispered quickly, "and I'm not going to take it back. It's true. Think about that before you go and fuck things up, okay?" she asked him. Jace stood there bewildered.

"I suppose," he said, stunned at her fierce reaction. Her hand tightened its hold on his arm before letting go.

"I'm not kidding, Jace. Fix this shit before it blows up on your face." She slammed the door on his face then and Jace was left staring at it. He couldn't get Camille's green eyes out of his mind. They just looked completely concentrated on a goal. It almost seemed as if she was about to start making all of his decisions from then on.

The thought was quite creepy.

With one more look at the door, Jace stepped away and began making his way towards his car. If it was possible, he was more confused about everything because of Camille and Magnus. Once inside his car, he realized there was only one person that could help him put his mind in order.

"Jace?"she responded in the first ring. He almost wanted to laugh at the incredulous tone of her voice.

"Yeah, it's me. Uhm, are you busy?" he asked, feeling like such a little kid.

"For you? Never. Are you on your way?" she asked softly and Jace could almost see the smile on her face.

"Yeah. I'll be there in ten," he told her, already feeling much, _much_ better.

"I'll be here," she said and hung up on him. Jace speeded wanting to talk to her already.

Around eight minutes later, he rounded the corner and came upon the rundown apartments where she lived. Jace hated the place so much, but she would just not let him buy her a new place.

After parking, he got out of his car and almost jogged up the stairs leading him to her. Once he got there, he knocked once and the door swung open.

Dorothea engulfed Jace into one of her life-sucking hugs and pulled him into her home. "Oh, my boy! I haven't seen you in so long!" she exclaimed happily. Jace felt guilty for not coming to visit her more often.

"Hey, momma," he told her while taking in her tie-dye dress, clanging bracelets and earrings, and dark hair peppered with gray hairs. Her warm smile was inviting and Jace felt himself smiling down at her.

"Well, come! Sit down! I'll make you some tea and then we'll talk about what's troubling you."

_Of course she would know something was wrong, _he thought.

She grabbed his arm and led him to her old couches. Grinning, he sank down onto the plush cushions.

Dorothea went to her small kitchen, humming to some old song. Jace closed his eyes and just breathed in the smell of musty woods and eucalyptus leaves. It smelled just like home.

"How are your mom and dad, sweetheart?" she asked from the kitchen. Jace opened his eyes and frowned at his hands.

"I don't know. I haven't seen them in a while. Have you?" he asked half-heartedly. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about his biological parents. As far as he knew, Dorothea was his mother for all intents and purposes. She may have been just his caretaker when he was a kid, but she was way more than his mother ever tried to be.

"Last month, I did," she said, coming back with two cups of tea. "They're okay, if you were wondering." _Not really . . . _"You'd think that, with you running the family business, you'd see them more often."

Jace rolled his eyes and took a sip of his tea. _As if . . ._

"Father just gave me the keys to the palace and fled. It was almost as if he never wanted to see the company again," Jace said bitterly. Dorothea patted his arm affectionately.

"They'll come around," she said.

_Sure,_ Jace thought, _the first time you said that I was five. _

"Anywho, I know you are not here to talk about your parents. What's going on, sweetie?" She sipped her coffee and looked at Jace with loving eyes.

"I don't know what to do, momma," he told her softly.

She frowned and stood up to sit next to Jace in the couch. "About what?"

Suddenly, Jace didn't want to talk to her about anything. "I—momma, I'm afraid to disappoint you," he finished.

Dorothea shook her head with a small smile. "Sweetheart, you will never disappoint me. Maybe anger me, but never will I ever be disappointed in you." She patted his cheek lovingly. "You are _my_ boy. You'll always be my boy."

Jace sighed and smiled at Dorothea. She nodded at him to begin. "Well, you know I'm married."

Dorothea wrinkled her nose. "Yes, with Aline."

Jace nodded. "Yes, well, things have not been so great with her and me." Her eyebrow rose.

"Jace Wayland. I hope you are not referring to sex."

Jace choke on his own spit and began coughing uncontrollably.

"Never, _ever,_ talk about sex with me, mom," he said after he recovered. Dorothea laughed.

"Oh, sweetie. So it's not that. What happened then?"

"I—" he paused and looked at Dorothea quickly before continuing, "I met someone, momma."

She stared at him hard. Jace didn't know how long they stood there, looking at each other. There was nothing in her face that betrayed what she was thinking.

"And," she finally said breaking the silence, "this person is _not_ Aline, I conclude."

"Your conclusion is right," he said softly. He hated feeling like this. So out in the open and vulnerable.

"And it's not a man," she stated. Jace's lips turned up slightly.

"No, mom. She's not a man."

"Just covering all bases, sweetheart." She took a sip of her tea. "And this mystery woman is threatening your relationship with Aline."

Jace grimaced. "I wouldn't put it that way."

Dorothea studied Jace's face intently. Her lip twitched. "How is this mystery girl?" Jace smiled.

"She's great! She's funny, outgoing. She doesn't think my shit is meaningless or boring. I truly enjoy my time with her. Sometimes, I don't even want to leave her alone. I always want to be with her, mom."

"Did you ever feel like this of Aline and Kaelie?" she asked with a small frown.

"That's what's got me so confused. I've never felt so much with someone before. Neither of them. It's so frustrating! I haven't even seen Clary for a long time to say I learned to love her through the months. It's been less than a month and—and—what?" he asked Dorothea since he saw a big grin spreading across her face.

"You love her now," she said, almost gleefully. Jace's eyes widened.

"What?"

"You said, 'learned to love her'. You're in love with this Clary girl." She sighed and there was a twinkle in her dark eyes. "I've never seen you quite so excited before. She's good for you."

_Wow, I love her?_

Dorothea laughed. "Of course you do, sweetie! You love her! It's all over that handsome face of yours!"

"I said that out loud?" he asked her with a frown.

She shook her head. "No, you just looked doubtful. I figured that's what you were thinking. Now," she said, getting a somber tone, "I'm not happy about this situation. As a husband, you should be faithful and in your relationship."

"Mom," he said with a frown. "I can't even _be_ with Aline because I just think of Clary. All the time."

Dorothea smiled. "I'm not done. I've never seen you talk about someone quite like you talk about this Clary." She stopped and took a deep breath, her brow furrowed as she was in deep thought. "Spring Break is coming up. Why don't you escape for a little and then come back with a clearer head. You'll know what to do then."

Jace stared at her with wonder. "Alone?" Dorothea shrugged with a smile.

"I'm not about to tell you to cheat. What type of mother would I be?" She grinned and patted his arm. "No, no. I don't know anything of who you're taking on this trip."

Jace grinned and stood up. "Thanks, momma." Dorothea laughed.

"Oh, sweetheart. Please come whenever you need. I'll gladly listen to you."

"I've got to go," he said, his mind was already thinking of ideas and places. "I love you, mom. I'll keep you updated." She grinned as he kissed her cheek affectionately.

"That's all I want."

w.^.w

"What are you doing this Spring Break?" he asked once he heard her voice.

There were a few seconds of silence in which, Jace thought, she was thinking.

"What do you have in mind?" Clary asked from the other side of the phone.

Jace grinned.

* * *

><p><em>WHOO! BEFORE SCHOOL STARTED! HELL YES! I'M ON A ROLL! ;) I feel great.<em>  
><em>We'll see when I update next. School starts and I have to get everything done if I plan on going to THG midnight premiere! :DD WHOO!<em>  
><em>I want to thank all of you guys that review. It seriously means so freaking much to me. I wish all you anons had a FFn account so I could reply! :D You are all great. Truly. :D<em>  
><em>This goes to <em>BlondeHairBlueEyes14, SportyNo1, camibandlover,_ and _07XReflectional_ because GOD! They are just my world! :D I LOVE YOU BABES WITH ALL MY HEART!_  
><em>OHMYGOD SO, LIKE, HAPPY NIALL DAY! (Otherwise known as St. Patrick's Day.)<br>**SO THIS IS CAMIBANDLOVER RAIDING MAXWAYLANDGREY'S FFN ACCOUNT.  
><strong>__**Hi. And Happy Niall Day! :D  
><strong>__**So, Maxym forgot to add some details into this...  
><strong>__**Like how sexy Niall is. And how amazing I am. It's Niall Appreciation Day. And Camille-Is-Motherfreaking-Awesome day. Yep.  
><strong>**Okay, bye now. ;) (Also, Harry Styles is my boyfriend and we are VERY HAPPY TOGETHER.)**_

_So, like, would you mind leaving a beautiful..._

_Review? :DD_


	12. Chapter Eleven

***All the characters from The Mortal Instruments belong to Cassandra Clare and her incredible mind. Nothing will ever be owned by the author of this story. ;)***

_Musical Preference:_

_Fireworks- You Me At Six_

_Perfect- Smashing Pumpkins_

_Stolen- Dashboard Confessional_

Please, please, please enjoy. :D

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Eleven<span>

"_What?_" Aline screeched from the living room as Jace walked away from her and onto their bedroom. He took a suitcase out and put it on top of the bed, unzipped it, and moved towards his closet. Fuming, Aline got in his way and didn't let him through.

"Aline. You have to move," he said through his teeth, his patience wearing thin.

She glared at him. "No! What is this all about a business trip? During Spring Break! I thought we would finally have some time alone!" Jace refrained from rolling his eyes and sidestepped her.

"I thought so, too," he lied as he stepped into his closet and started getting clothes. "Sometimes life doesn't go the way you plan it."

Jace heard a shriek from behind him as he put in some boxers and t-shirts inside the suitcase. Just as he was about to turn around to go back into his closet, Aline grabbed the clothes and threw them on the floor.

"No. You are not going." Aline stood there, face flushed with her arms crossed over her chest. Jace's gaze traveled at the mound of clothes next to her shoes. For some reason, looking at the pile just sitting there, getting wrinkled by the second, made him crack.

"_Aline!_" he yelled.

She jumped slightly at his raised voice. Aline never thought she had ever heard Jace raise his voice at her. He was usually just curt and short, but this was a completely different Jace.

"Cut your fucking shit, okay?" he continued yelling. Jace took a deep breath and lowered his voice. "This is my job. I'm going and you have no say in this situation. Am I fucking clear?" Aline grimaced as if she was about to disagree. Jace narrowed his eyes and, with a shaky breath, she nodded her head. "Good," he said, annoyed. "Now will you put those clothes back inside the bag?"

Jace turned around once he saw Aline crouching down to get his clothes. He rolled his eyes behind her back and picked more clothes to stuff into his bag. When he looked back to the bed, he found Aline sitting next to the suitcase with her head down fiddling with the hem of a blue shirt. He frowned as he walked over.

"Aline?" he asked as he put clothes into the suitcase. She looked up briefly before dropping her gaze to the t-shirt once again. That was enough, though, for Jace to see her watery eyes. He sighed and crouched down in front of her after dumping his clothes unceremoniously on the suitcase. "Hey, look at me," he told her softly. Jace felt like such a hypocrite because the last thing on his to-do list was to comfort Aline.

She lifted her face gently and Jace saw the tear marks on her cheeks. Lifting his hands to her face, he wiped them away with his thumbs. She tried to move her face away but Jace held her fast. When she realized she wouldn't get away from him, she finally sighed and dropped her head down.

"Jace, what are we doing?" she asked softly. Jace opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. He didn't completely understand her question or where it was coming from. "I mean," she began after looking at Jace's troubled expression, "we don't talk. We barely see each other. You just come to sleep and by the morning you're gone. Sometimes, you don't even come to sleep." Aline took a deep breath and looked up to his eyes. Hers were puffy and red already from holding back tears that were spilling over nonetheless.

"Is there . . . Jace, is there someone else?" she asked. Jace was shocked into silence. The earnest way she was looking at him was too much for him. It was hopeful, naïve. She really wanted to believe that maybe her assumptions were wrong.

Jace, for some reason, felt responsible to keep her happy.

"Honey . . . no," he lied. He stroked her cheek softly, feeling repulsed with himself. "There isn't anyone but you. Don't ever think otherwise."

_Yeah, _he thought sourly to himself_, you'll just see her in a few right after you finish packing your bags. A fucking hypocrite, that's what you are._

"Really, Jace? Don't lie to me, please. I can't take any more lies and I need to know. It's the only thing I ask for. There has to be someone else by the way you are ignoring me. This is how it started when you got rid of Kaelie and—"

The mention of Kaelie was enough to set Jace off. How dare she look like the fucking victim when it had been partly her fault things with Kaelie didn't work out? It made Jace's blood boil.

"Oh, really?" he interrupted snidely while standing up. "And because you were the other woman, now you think there is someone else, huh?" From the corner of his eye, Jace saw Aline flinch slightly at that.

_At least I'm not the only hypocrite in the room,_ he thought sarcastically. Jace closed his eyes for a moment and thought for a moment, while he heard soft sniffles coming from Aline.

He was tired. He was fucking tired of the same thing over and over again. Aline was beautiful—gorgeous, even—but that really wasn't enough to keep this farce of a marriage they were living. Yes, as dick as it sounded, he had lost total interest in Aline. If he was completely honest with himself, he didn't know what had made Aline so different from any other woman. Right now, she was exactly like any other.

Clary, on the other hand . . .

Jace shook his head and focused his eyes once more on Aline. She was still sitting there, her pin-straight hair covering her face as she looked down at the shirt that was still on her hands. He had to do this now, he knew. There was no future for this. None at all. He didn't even want to try salvaging any scraps left because, to be honest, _there were none._

"Aline, you deserve to be happy," he began tenderly, "and we both know that's not gonna be happening anytime soon if you stay with me."

Aline lifted her head slowly. Her eyes were closed once her face came into view and Jace was expecting the waterworks to begin once her eyes opened, but was rather surprised when he was met with a blue, icy glare. He wanted to laugh at the unexpected change of events, but that would've been inappropriate.

"So, that's it?" she asked quietly while standing up. "You're just giving up?"

Jace almost rolled his eyes. "No. This was over a long time ago. The spark is gone. There is nothing left. Even if I wanted to fix this, I wouldn't be able to because we just don't fit in together anymore. It's better if you take this in an understanding manner, Aline. There is nothing we can actually d—"

"Oh, _shut up!_" she interrupted him, throwing the shirt on her hand to the floor. "That is such bullshit! You just want to go back to fucking bitches like you used to when you were with Kaelie!"

Jace narrowed his eyes at her, meeting her glare equally. He refrained from pointing out she had just called herself a bitch.

"I'm pretty sure you'd be perfectly fine by finding a new secretary job and fucking your boss. I'm sure working with me wasn't the first time you ever downgraded yourself. So, please, let us finish this in a civilized ma—"

"_Civilized manner, my ass!_" she yelled while stomping her feet on the floor. Jace couldn't fight the little smirk that slipped his mouth. It was just too goddamned funny! "Ugh, _you bastard_!" she began screaming again and advanced towards him. "Why the _fuck_ are you _laughing_ at _me_? You _asshole_! You are asking for the fucking _divorce_ and you think you can just laugh this off when you _can't_, _dickhead_!

"And you," she jabbed her finger on Jace's chest, "just called me," she continued softly, "a fucking _slut_!" she finished with a yell and made as if to punch Jace on the chest, but before it made contact, Jace grabbed her wrist and leveled a glare at her. Aline took in a shaky breath before yanking her hand away. She took a few steps back and grabbed her purse from the vanity table.

Jace stared at her with a raised eyebrow. "Where do you think you're going?" She was by the door as she turned around, breathing heavy out of rage.

"Away from your fucking face!" she yelled. Jace shook her head at how childish she was acting.

Smiling at her, he waved and called out, "I still want the divorce."

Aline took in a deep breath as her cheeks turned red. "Like hell you're getting it!"

She was walking down the corridor when Jace remembered something. "Oh, Aline, wait!" He jogged towards the door, where Aline was having problems opening it. Jace grabbed it and opened it. She huffed and turned around, her cheeks still red. He leaned down and, ever so softly, whispered, "I never stopped fucking bitches."

If it was possible, her cheeks got even redder, almost purple, as she shrieked of rage and ran out the door before she did something stupid. Jace closed the door behind her softly and felt a new kind of relief, like a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders.

His marriage was on its way to over, so there was nothing could hold him back through his holidays.

He was, figuratively, free.

w.^.w

"What's taking him so long?" Simon asked after looking at his watch for what felt like the fourth time. Clary had given up on counting. She rolled her eyes and lowered her sunglasses to see him on the couch across from her.

"He said he'd be here in ten minutes five minutes ago. Please cut it out. It was your suggestion to invite him to this in the first place." Putting her feet up in the leather of the couch, she regarded Simon with an annoyed glance.

He jerked his thumb at Isabelle who was sitting next to him playing with his hair. "It was hers, though! Not mine! He's the one taking forever." Simon, Isabelle, and Clary had been sitting on the couches on Simon's backyard waiting for the rest of the invited to come.

A loud popping sound came from Isabelle's gum as she grinned. "Oh, chill, Simon! We still need to wait for Alec and Magnus, anyways. Talking about them, don't you think they are just the cutest? They melt my heart," she wailed with a small smirk on her face. Simon groaned as Clary giggled at her drama.

"Not that again, please," Simon whined as he turned to look at Clary. "She can go on and on about them nonstop. She even made a ship name for them." Simon shook his head and looked at Isabelle again. "What was it, again?"

"Malec," Isabelle replied before popping another gum bubble.

Clary rolled her eyes with a smile on her face. She was about to reply to Isabelle when they heard the rev of a car coming from the other side of the house. Recognizing the engine, she jumped to her feet and skipped inside the house. "Jace's here!" she yelled over her shoulder. Crossing over the kitchen, living room, and sitting room, she came to a stop before the front door and opened it.

Jace's red BMW rounded the corner and parked right in front of Simon's house. She waited for him to get out of the car, and once he did, she noticed the almost grace-like movement of his shoulders and the carefree smile on his face. It made Clary want to take a double take since she couldn't remember ever seeing Jace so relaxed. When his head turned to see her, though, his smile turned into a grin that set Clary running towards him.

He caught her just as her arms flung themselves around his neck. Chuckling, he kissed her cheek. "Hey, Clary," he greeted in his low voice.

"Jace," she said and kissed him lightly in the mouth. He pulled back with a smirk while pulling some of her curls behind her ear.

"Sorry for making you wait so long. I had to make some phone calls before leaving," he said before kissing her again.

She smiled into the kiss and broke it, taking his hand and walking him towards Simon's house. "It's okay. We're still waiting on Malec."

". . . Malec?" he asked and Clary could imagine a small frown on his face. She looked over her shoulder at him with a grin.

"Isabelle's name for Alec and Magnus as a couple. Come on," she said dragging him to the backyard. Outside, Isabelle and Simon seemed in a very heated conversation that included a lot of hand gestures from Isabelle.

Simon glanced up at them with an annoyed expression that softened as he took in the smile of Clary's face. He stood up to greet Jace, pulling Isabelle up next to him who was beaming at the couple by the door. "Simon," he said with an extended hand. Jace grinned at him good-naturedly and shook Simon's hand.

"We finally meet properly. I'm Jace," Jace replied, sneaking a quick glance at Clary.

She watched with amusement as her best friend and Jace smiled at each other. For some reason, she had imagined the two not getting along at all. One look at Isabelle's stricken face and she knew she hadn't been the only one thinking that.

"Nice to see you again, Isabelle," Jace said directing the words to Isabelle. She smiled and nodded her head in his direction.

"Same goes, Jace," she said before they all whipped their heads towards the front door as they heard a cacophony of sounds echoing throughout the house.

"I believe Magnus has arrived," murmured Jace with a frown on his face. Simon's eyes widened as he pushed Jace out of the way and walked inside, Isabelle giggling right behind him.

"He better not damage my house. I don't care if he's your brother's boyfriend, Izzy. I'll still make him pay." Clary laughed at Simon's antics as she dropped onto the sofa she had been on previously, dragging Jace with her. He was still looking at the door with an amused expression. Clary grinned as she saw how carefree he looked.

"So," he began turning to look at her with a sly smirk, "a week with Magnus." He nodded his head with a sigh. "We'll make it." Clary laughed at his theatrics.

"What's up with you?" she asked with a smile. "I mean, you look less stressed," she continued after seeing his confused gaze. Clary traced the line of his brow softly. "It does wonders for your face."

Jace pulled back from her touch and raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not." Clary sat against the back of the couch with a smirk.

"Take it however you want to," she said before they were bombarded with company.

"Clary!" exclaimed Magnus as he came out of the house and into the backyard. Her grin widened as she saw his hand clasped tightly around Alec's.

"Hey, Mags," she said with a smile, standing up to give him and Alec a hug, Jace right behind her.

"Boss," Magnus grinned at Jace. "It's nice to see you. Meet Alec," he gestured to Alec. Jace smiled and shook Alec's hand.

"It's great meeting the person who makes Clary happy," said Alec with a small smile. Clary noticed how Jace's smile grew at Alec's comment.

"Thank you. I try," Jace said with a wink towards Clary. She felt herself blushing as Magnus studied both of them together, from their locked eyes to Jace's arm around Clary's waist.

He grinned and turned to Jace with a questioning gaze. "You look different, boss. Is this how you are outside the office? I would love to see this side of Jace far more often."

"I'm Jace for the week, Magnus," he said rolling his eyes. "And I took care of business, that's all." Clary saw how Magnus's eyes widened slightly and his grin widened impossibly before his eyes drifted giddily to her confused face. She thought about how Magnus looked ready to start squealing.

"Well, that's _great_ to know, boss," Magnus winked at Jace before smiling at Clary briefly. "You must be extremely relieved."

Jace chuckled. "You have no idea, Magnus," he said while squeezing Clary closer to him. Clary decided to ignore the Jace's and Magnus's weird conversation.

"Okay, now that we're all here," began Isabelle walking back outside with a grin on her face, "I suggest we start leaving. I don't want to get there too late. I want to go swimming before bed."

w.^.w

"—and she fell face first!" Clary concluded her story with a booming laugh that made Jace laugh after her. "I felt kind of bad for her, but she had it coming, honestly."

"I don't know what took you so long to push her," said Jace with chuckle. They were interrupted by the buzzing of Jace's phone on the console. He frowned and turned to Clary. "Do you think you can check who that is?"

Clary nodded and grabbed his phone. The glowing screen was showing a call from _Ignore_. She smiled slightly.

"_'Ignore'_ is calling," she said with a giggle. Jace chuckled and changed gears as they followed Simon's car out of the interstate, having arrived to their destination after a whole afternoon of driving.

"Just ignore it. Ex-girlfriend keeps calling ever since I dumped her." He shrugged and rolled his eyes at her. Clary snorted.

"Don't I know how that is," she said while pressing the real ignore button on his phone and dropping it where it had been before.

"Yeah, but that doesn't matter right now, does it?" he asked while sneaking a peak at her before looking back at the road. "You're with me and I'm with you. That's what matters." His hand found her knee and he squeezed lightly. From his peripheral vision, he could see Clary smiling.

Her hand entwined with his as she put her head on his shoulder. "Yup. That's all that really matters."

They settled into a comfortable silence with the sound of music playing softly in the background from the radio. This was what Jace liked about what Clary and he had. There was no real effort into what they did together. It just happened without neither of them having to put in too much to make it work. That's what made what they had different from all his other relationships.

He could truly be _himself _with her.

Clary would never judge him, and if she did, it was jokingly. She accepted him for who he really was. What scared Jace the most at the beginning of everything was the fact that he didn't even know who that was until he spent a little while with Clary. She made it that easy.

There was no point in denying it at that point. He realized as he parked in front of the small cabins where they would be staying for a whole week. Just as Clary unbuckled her seat belt and turned to Jace with a grin. Just as he leant over and stole a long, slow, sweet kiss from her lips. Just as she threw that brilliant smile at him once again before climbing out of the car.

He realized, just then, that he was in love with Clarissa Morgenstern.

And he had a whole week to show her.

* * *

><p><em>And here is where I apologize for the length of this chapter plus the fact it took me almost three months to update. (THREE MONTHS AGAIN? O.O) Anyways, I'm sorry, I finally got over sophomore year. (Fuck yes.) I don't know if that means updates because I've realized I gained a life when summer began. I'm up and down all day! *sigh*<br>Anyways, this goes for the same four girlies. :D _BlondeHairBlueEyes14 _because she'll soon show me how to make my own Tumblr themes! Whoo! _SportyNo1_ for always brightening my day when she talks to me. :D _camibandlover _for successfully getting freshmen year off her shoulders! And _07XReflectional_ for the great two years that we'll have together now! :D  
>Another thing: Don't ever, <em>ever_, EVER think I will leave a story to die by itself. I would never do that but I hate putting A/N chapters because that just puts your hopes up and I hate when people do that to me. xD I prefer actually updating with a chapter. Which is why I wait. xD_

_:D I'm going on vacation for four days next week and that may mean writing during the ride? ;D Oh, yes. So, would you mind leaving a wonderful (or terrible, I could care less! :D) . . ._

_Review?_


	13. Chapter Twelve

***All the characters from The Mortal Instruments belong to Cassandra Clare and her incredible mind. Nothing will ever be owned by the author of this story. ;)***

_Musical Preference:_

_Everything I Ask For- The Maine_

_Enjoy the Silence- Depeche Mode_

_Contagious Chemistry- You Me At Six_

"This love is dirtier than you think." –Enjoy. ;)

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Twelve<span>

"Yes, yes, yes! Water, Simon! Finally!" exclaimed Isabelle as she jogged towards the lake with a see-through dress hastily thrown over her red bikini. Clary laughed as she tugged Jace along by his hand.

"Don't go too fast, Izzy. There might be some crocodiles this late at night," called Magnus from behind them. Isabelle turned abruptly and turned around to glare at Magnus.

"Shut up. You're just trying to scare me," she said as she grabbed Simon's hand and began walking towards the lake, no longer as excited as before.

Covering her giggle into Jace's shoulder, Clary felt his own chuckle making his whole body vibrate. She shivered slightly as a light draft of wind came over the night. Wrapping his arm around her, Jace pulled her closer to him. Clary was suddenly grateful for her sensitive nerves.

"Are you going in?" Jace asked Clary as they remained behind the group. Alec was already setting his and Magnus's chair as the rest tested the water. Clary turned to look at him with a smile.

"I think I will," Clary mused. Jace grinned at her, his hair silvery under the moonlight. His eyes danced with a new kind of light, no longer gold, but sliver due to the reflection of the moon. Clary thought he looked like some kind of night prince. "Will you be joining me?"

He smirked down at her as he lowered his mouth to her ear. "I believe you will be the one joining me." Clary frowned but didn't have a chance to question him before Jace hoisted her up on his shoulder and took running towards the lake.

Laughing, Clary kicked her legs up in the air and grabbed onto Jace's shirt tightly. She couldn't complain of the sight that Jace's ass was. He was one of those guys that had everything perfect. And his ass was really, _really_ nice.

Before she could even have enough time to catch her breath, she was greeted by the icy coldness of the lake's water. She squealed loudly as Jace grabbed her around the waist to keep her afloat. Her legs and arms immediately went around Jace's neck and waist. Chuckling, he rubbed her back to warm her shivering body. Regaining her surroundings, she turned to glare at Jace, her wet hair flying out, and slapped his shoulder harshly.

"What was that for, asshole?" she asked trying to sound angry, but the smile he was wearing was contagious. She hugged him closer as she felt his body heat transferring to hers.

"I knew what your reaction would be," he told her snidely. Clary tried not to roll her eyes before realizing her white shirt had become see-through and her blue bikini was now visible.

She looked back at Jace with a frown, debating how she could take the shirt off without letting go of him. "Jace!" she exclaimed with an innocent smile. "Can you take my shirt off?"

He raised an eyebrow but didn't argue with her. Jace's warm hand went under her wet shirt, slowly raising it up. She fought the shiver that wanted to run down her spine as he lifted the shirt over her head and arms.

He threw the shirt next to Alec's sitting form who jumped slightly. Magnus and he looked over. "Hey! Don't have sex here! Kids come to swim in the morning," called Magnus. Clary giggled and began taking Jace's shirt off. Smirking, Jace helped her and, once off, threw it on the same spot where Clary's lay. "I'm serious!" yelled Magnus before turning back to Alec.

Turning her face to Jace's neck, she giggled at her friend's words. "He's serious, Jace," she repeated for emphasis.

"Serious is something Magnus is not," Jace whispered in her ear as he began walking away from the rest. His hands were secure on Clary's ribcage, his thumbs grazing the bottom of her bikini top. Clary felt the water rising up her back as they went deeper into the lake.

She pulled back to look at Jace questioningly. "Where are you taking us?" she asked him, trying to look over her shoulder to where Jace was heading. "Magnus wasn't lying about the crocodiles, Jace," she warned him even though it wasn't true.

Clary looked back at Jace as his hand began stroking her cheek. He was smiling adoringly at her, and any panic that she had been starting to feel banished. "I won't get us eaten any time soon," he said with slight humor. "I just want you for myself a little longer."

"Not liking the idea of sharing a cabin with everyone else, eh?" asked Clary mockingly. Jace shook his head as he tightened his hold on her further.

"But," he began, tucking a wet curl behind her ear, "can you really blame me for wanting you all to myself?"

Blushing, she turned her face into his neck. "At least we're on the same page," she told him. Laughing, he pulled her face up and, without saying anything else, proceeded to meet their lips for a kiss.

Jace groaned as Clary dug the nails of her hand on his shoulder, the other holding his hair tightly. Jace's hands wandered from her wet curls down to her bottom, where they stayed. Clary couldn't think of anything else but getting closer still to Jace. She squeezed Jace's waist closer to hers with her legs. Growling, Jace began attacking her mouth with much more force than before, Clary reciprocating with moans of her own.

Suddenly, Clary was underwater once again, grabbing Jace close to her chest. A few seconds later and they were both on the surface, fighting for air. Clary began shivering again and Jace started laughing. Glaring, she slapped his back with a growl.

"What the fuck happened?" she asked, truly angry by the interruption. Jace shook his head and rained Clary with the water from his hair. He continued laughing and grabbed her hand to avoid her slaps.

"That was," he began, chuckling, "an accident. I slipped."

Clary continued glaring. "If I knew how to swim, I would already have let go of you and swam back ashore." She tightened her hold on him and willed her shivers to stop.

Jace chuckled. "Even then, I believe I would be faster than you and would have caught you before going too far." Clary bit her lip to avoid her smile from showing.

"You're such a smartass," Clary whispered as she hugged him, trying to warm her body with his.

"Stop stating the obvious, Clary," he told her while rubbing his hands up and down her back under the water, trying to stop her shivering.

"Jace," she began, taking her head off his shoulder to look at him properly. "Shut up."

He laughed wholeheartedly. "Gladly," he told her before taking her lips in his once again.

w.^.w

After their late night swim, they had come back to their cabin to dry off and then sat in the living room to watch a movie. Now, five faces were left staring at the darkened television as the end credits started rolling—six if Alec's sleeping face was counted.

"That," begun Simon, accentuating the word, "was the most stupid movie I have ever seen."

Isabelle shook her head slowly. "How was that even in the horror section?"

"I envy Alec so much at this moment," Magnus sighed, looking wistfully at his sleeping boyfriend.

"It was partially our fault, though," began Clary looking around the room. "We were looking for a laugh and what was better than a movie called _Killer Clowns from Outer Space_?"

"It was creepy, though. The clowns' faces . . ." Jace trailed off as he stared at the dark TV with disgust. Isabelle and Clary shuttered at the reminder. Magnus rolled his eyes as he began waking Alec up.

"The cotton candy bodies . . ." said Simon to himself as he lowered his head to his hands. Alec woke up and took in their grimaces and the credits rolling.

"I take it was everything I said it would be," he said with a smug smile.

"Worse, actually," Jace told him. Alec chuckled and stood up, stretching his long body before reaching out for Magnus.

"See you guys in the morning," he said before taking Magnus up the stairs. Isabelle stood up as well, turning on the lamp on the corner of the room while at it. The room was softly illuminated.

"That's our cue to leave as well," she told Jace and Clary as they cuddled on the loveseat they had taken for themselves. Simon stood up, smiling briefly at the couple before taking Isabelle's waist, leading them towards the stairs.

Turning her head, Clary looked at Jace behind her. "Should we go up as well?" Jace pushed her further to his chest while shaking his head.

"No. We got the room next to Magnus and Alec. I want to at least give it an hour before we go," he told her, chuckling slightly as he saw her grimacing a bit.

"Fine," she said while grabbing the remote from the coffee table. "Do you want to browse Netflix?" Jace nodded in her neck not really caring one bit about whatever was going on in the TV.

Without really giving it any thought, Clary picked a movie at random and lowered the volume so it just became background music before turning her body slightly so she could see Jace without turning her head completely. His eyebrow rose questioning her motives. She smiled and began running her hands through his hair while taking in his closing eyes and slackened mouth.

"Jace . . ." she began biting her lip. Clary began second-guessing herself about bringing her questions up. Jace opened his eyes sensing her hesitance. "I just . . . I was thinking that I really have no idea where you come from."

He stared at her for a few seconds, his lip twitching slightly. "I came to this world the same way you di—"

"Seriously, Jace," she cut him off with no humor in her eyes. "I mean, I guess I'm sort of prying but I don't know anything about you having a family."

Clary watched as his eyebrows furrowed and he looked down at their entwined hands. He seemed to be having an internal conflict between himself and she suddenly wished she hadn't said anything.

Just as she was going to tell him to forget it, he spoke, still not looking at her. "I was born into a family of businessmen and women. My father was already in charge of our company by then so I always had everything I needed, except a father and a mother. They were never really there my whole life, so I just don't see why they seem important. Besides, I hardly see them. That's why I don't ever bring them up."

Clary frowned and began running her fingers through his curls once again as she tried to get her thoughts together. "So there was never anybody there for you?" Jace looked at her then with a small smile.

"No, there was. My caretaker is like a mother to me." Watching Clary's smile, he continued, "Her name is Dorothea, if you were wondering."

"Seems like she was all that you actually needed," she remarked with a grin. Jace chuckled and pulled her to him. She melted into his hug, her questions resting for a while.

"She was," he said into her shoulder. After a few seconds, Clary felt Jace tense up before releasing her and holding her at arm's length. She frowned at him as he looked down once again. "There's something else you might want to know about me, but I don't know if you're going to like it."

"What is it?" she asked him warily. Jace looked at her with his gold eyes before sighing.

"Would it bother you if—" he stopped, opened his mouth a few times like he was thinking of a correct way of phrasing his question. Shaking his head, he began again. "Clary, I hope that by now you know that you mean a lot to me and . . . I think I'd really hate if this was a problem for you."

Clary frowned and grabbed his face, bringing it close to hers. "Jace, stop being so cryptic and tell me what the fuck is going on. I bet it's not even that bad."

He exhaled, washing Clary's face with his warm breath. "I've been married before."

Clary froze on her place, looking from one of Jace's eyes to the other, trying to see the mirth and lie in his gaze, but all she saw was a new uncertainty. She couldn't remember when was the last time she had ever seen that, if ever. Slowly, she closed the distance between their lips, giving him a soft kiss. She drew back quickly and looked him in the eye.

"I suppose it was a stupid mistake. And I'm hoping you weren't lying when you said you were twenty-six and actually are around forty-three and has had plastic surgery to keep the perfect face. That you have four kids hanging around your ex-wife's house and that you only visit them once a year," she finished quietly but seriously as she kept staring into his eyes. She noticed how his lip twitched slightly.

"It _was_ a stupid mistake," he started explaining letting a smile take over his face. "I _am _twenty-six and have had no plastic surgery. And I have no kids lying around anywhere, believe me. I think I would know."

Clary smiled and hugged him to her. "Then there's nothing to worry about, okay? We all make mistakes and, even though yours was majorly stupid, it's already fixed. So, no worries."

He sighed heavily on her neck, sending shivers down her spine. "No worries," he echoed her. "You know," he added as an after-thought, "I thought I loved her the way you're supposed to love someone in order to marry them, but the way I felt about her comes nowhere close to the way I feel about you." She drew in a sharp breath at his confession, but she kept quiet and just hugged him closer.

He pulled away just enough to capture her lips. She almost gasped at the change between all his other kisses and this one. It felt more than sweet, just a barely there touch between their lips. It was almost cautious but sure at the same time as he finally pressed his more firmly to hers, slowly as if he were memorizing every single movement her lips did against his.

After what felt like hours, he pulled away leaving Clary breathless. "So, you really don't mind? At all?" he asked touching their foreheads together, still uncertain, and Clary hated seeing that new vulnerability in his eyes.

She laughed, a bit breathless. "Jace, I love you too much to care about something so insignificant." His hands, which were resting on her hips tightened a little bit and it took Clary a few seconds to realize what she had said, but by then his lips were already on hers, pressing hard and urgently. Completely different to the last kiss they had shared. She wasn't sure, but she thought she could feel Jace smiling in their kiss.

"Clary," he murmured between kisses, smoothing down her hair. He kept repeating her name reverently, laughing into their kiss. "Clary," he said once more pecking her lips before looking her in the eyes. She noticed that his eyes no longer had that vulnerability she had disliked, but were bright and strong. And honest. "I love you, too."

Clary's small smile turned into the shape of an "O" as she let her wonder take over her happiness. She couldn't believe that, in the span of almost a month, she had such big feelings for someone and they were being reciprocated. With a small giggle she pulled him to her, kissing him with newfound confidence due to the fact that somebody as perfect and wonderful as Jace could love her.

When she felt Jace's tongue licking hers, she opened up to him without hesitation, moving to straddle him. She pulled slightly on the roots of the hairs at the nape of his neck as their tongues battled for dominance. His moan only spurred Clary on as she scooted closer to him and, without meaning to, began rotating her hips slowly over him. He groaned, kissing her rougher as he helped her move with his hands on her hips.

Suddenly, Jace broke away from the kiss and held Clary's face in front of his. "As much as I want you right now, I don't want our first time to be on the couch," he told her seriously as Clary giggled.

"Jace," she giggled his name, moving to kiss under his earlobe. "We've already had a first time in a bed."

He chuckled as he moved her hair out of her neck so he could pepper it with open-mouthed kisses. "Doesn't count because we were drunk. How do you know it was on the bed? We only _woke up_ there. We could have done it anywhere else." Jace kissed her pulse point and she shivered under his touch. "And I can't remember anything but this," he said moving his hands to rest on her bum, squeezing suggestively.

Clary giggled into his neck kissing it lightly. "I don't really care," she told him honestly. He pulled her back and kissed her lips lightly with a smile.

"But I do. So, hold on," he told her as he lifted them off the couch. Clary squealed and held onto his neck tightly, hiding her face in his neck, kissing his jaw line and making his way slowly to his mouth. He caught hers just as he began ascending the stairs. One of her hands went slowly down his chest, tracing his pecs and stomach as she got closer to the hem of his shirt. Her hand slowly went under his shirt and flattened under the hard muscle. Jace let out a groan as her fingernails scratched at him slightly.

Slowly, but surely, Jace moved towards their room, taking turns between kissing her mouth and her neck, his thumbs rubbing soft circles over the exposed skin on her waist. He moved his hand to rest under her bum to open the door of their room, his teeth nibbling on the soft skin where her neck met her shoulder. She moaned roughly at the sensation going all throughout her body.

Once Jace closed the door, he pushed her roughly against the wall next to the door, not wasting any more time. They both groaned as their bodies grinded against each other, their hands all over each other, trying to touch as much of each other as possible.

Clary pulled his shirt up over his head and he discarded it on the floor next to them, immediately going back her lips. Her nails began scratching over the ridges of his abs and his tattoo, sending Jace groaning, attacking Clary's mouth more fervently.

Clary felt Jace's hand slowly going up her shirt. She stopped her assault on his chest just long enough to take her own shirt off, leaving her only in her bikini top from earlier. Loving the free skin of her torso, Jace rubbed soft pattern with his fingers over her ribcage before moving them up to her breasts, stroking them. Clary left his mouth and let her head fall back to rest on the wall as a moan escaped her parted lips. Jace took advantage of her position to kiss her jaw line, moving down slowly, nibbling on the skin and sucking, enjoying Clary's groans and moans.

One of Jace's hands left her breast to move to her back, unknotting her top. She felt him going to her neck, reaching for the other knot. Clary disentangled her hands from his neck to take her bikini over her head without unknotting it. Jace chuckled slightly before taking her mouth in his again, kissing her harshly. His lips left her mouth and began leaving kissing on her jaw line, down her neck, on her pulse point, on her collar bones, and down to her breasts. Her hands went to his hair, holding him to her.

Jace moved back to her mouth before walking them to the bed, where he laid her down, climbing on top of her. She moved her hands down his chest until they reached the top of his shorts as he fixed himself completely over her. Clary felt Jace's eyes on her as one of her hands traced his tattoo's tentacles, scratching softly. One of the hands that was next to her head moved down to run over her uncovered knee and up her thigh, reaching the top of her own shorts.

He lowered himself and brushed his lips against hers softly, her fingers unbuttoning his shorts. She helped him take them off completely, leaving him in only boxers on top of her, his bulge noticeable against the cotton. Clary looked up at Jace and saw his darkened eyes gazing at her with desire. He put his hand flat on her stomach, the side of his hand brushing the top of her shorts. He pressed his lips on her pulse point, going up to her lips slowly.

Jace unbuttoned her shorts and Clary lifted her hips to help Jace take them off. She moved her hands down, leaving one by his waist as they other traveled down further until it lay over his lust. She gripped him and he groaned, leaning his forehead against her shoulder as she continued her movements.

His hand traveled the inside of her thigh until they reached Clary's heat and began rubbing his thumb over her underwear slowly. Her back arched as he lowered his lips to her breast, making her pleasure the more. Clary's hand movements sped up the more and she could see how much Jace was struggling breathing, just like her.

Suddenly, he stopped rubbing her to grabbed her hand, completely stopping her from jerking him off correctly. His lips made the journey, almost painfully, towards her ear. "Clary," he groaned playfully, leaving Clary shivering nonetheless. "I need you now." He began pulling her underwear down after her nod, her hands pulling his boxers off as well.

Clary stared at his lust with a sly smirk before looking up at him. "Tell me, how did I not leave your apartment sore after that other night?" Jace chuckled and aligned himself to her, looking her in the eyes all the while.

"I'm not answering that," he told her, all humor leaving his face after that. He looked at her softly, almost memorizing every one of her features. "You're beautiful," he said, kissing her cheek. "You're gorgeous," he mentioned, kissing her other cheek. "You're hilarious," he said, kissing her nose and causing her to giggle slightly. "And you're mine," he finished, kissing her on the mouth before pushing himself slowly into her.

She gasped, grasping his shoulders as he kept looking at her. "You wanna know something else, Clary?" he asked her, practically groaning. Clary wasn't sure if she nodded or not, but Jace continued nonetheless. "I love you," he said as their hips met and let Clary adjust to him.

Hugging Jace's shoulders closer to her with one arm, he held his face close to her with her other. She kissed him softly with a smile. "I love you, too," she moaned as Jace moved out of her and thrust in.

Moments later, as they lay panting against each other's chests, Clary couldn't help but marvel at Jace's wonderful features—his full lips, cheekbones, cute nose, and sparkling eyes—and think of how lucky she was to have a man that perfect loving her.

* * *

><p><em>Let us celebrate the fact that it did not take me a whole three months to update. WHOOP. Can we also celebrate the fact the deed is DONE? A lot of you have been telling me to "just let them fuck!" and here it is. My first ever "lemon" you could say. Tell me what you think! You wouldn't imagine how nerve wracking it was for me to write this. Just ask 07XReflectional and camibandlover. They know what I'm talking about.<em>

_So, quick thanks to those two up there plus BlondeHairBlueEyes14 and SportyNo1 for your constant support on this story. I love all of you._

_I want to update this soon, and you know what makes me update faster? If you guys would be kind enough to..._

_Review? :)_


	14. Chapter Thirteen

***All the characters from The Mortal Instruments belong to Cassandra Clare and her incredible mind. Nothing will ever be owned by the author of this story. ;)***

_Musical Preference:_

_Underdog- You Me At Six_

_Talk- Coldplay_

:) Enjoy!

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Thirteen<span>

"How's it going, Wayland?"

Jace glanced up to find Sebastian navigating himself inside his office. Standing, he greeted Sebastian with a friendly smile and a warm handshake. Nothing could really ruin his _fucktastic_ week with Clary.

"Woah, Wayland," remarked Sebastian as he took a seat. "You can't be that happy to see me! Who's getting laid here, eh?" And there went his smile.

Scowling, Jace sat back and turned halfway away from him. "Didn't we talk about keeping our damn business to ourselves?"

Sebastian smirked. "When was that? I don't seem to remember." Jace rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, how's the software?" he asked, trying to stray Sebastian away from the subject.

"It's getting there," Sebastian answered all business now. "The process is slightly slow but we're getting there. We should be done by the time we agreed on."

"You didn't need to come all the way over here just to keep me informed. A call would've done it." Jace sat forwards slightly. "What are you really doing here, Sebastian?"

He frowned mockingly. _Yup, definitely here for something else, _Jace thought, mentally preparing himself for some bullshit.

"I'm talking to an old friend," began Sebastian. "Can I not do that anymore?" Jace cocked an eyebrow and Sebastian finally broke into his trademark shit-eating grin. "I wanna know about this new girl you're bedding. You know, like old times. She must be really incredible to have you this whipp—"

"Enough! Jace slammed his hand on the desk, his temper getting the best of him. Sebastian's eyes grew noticeably. "I don't believe there is any work ethic involving talking about my personal life, Verlac. I think it'd be best if you leave now."

Sebastian's eyes narrowed as he got up. "Have it your way, Wayland." He hesitantly made for the door and swung it open with force to make the chair behind it stumble. "Move, Bane!" he exclaimed causing Jace to look up.

Magnus looked over Sebastian with dislike before moving out of his way. The other walked past, shaking his head to himself. Jace thought it looked so childish since Magnus was around three inches taller than Sebastian.

"Who fucked his girl?" Magnus asked jokingly before moving into the office, closing the door behind him.

"I doubt he can even get a girl with how disgusting he is," Jace commented slightly.

"Not to sound like an ass, boss," began Magnus, and Jace already knew this was gonna hurt, "but you weren't quite the catch before Clary either."

Jace glanced up at Magnus who was studying his nails with an air of boredom. "Yeah," he said, "I was even worse than Sebastian."

"He looked up to you, you know," called Magnus. "Back when he worked here." Jace gave him a horrified look. "Well, why wouldn't he? You had the dream job, hot wife, _and_ twenty different girls hanging from your arms daily." He paused as he leant back in his chair. "Any hormone-driven man's dream."

"Oh, god," muttered Jace as he rubbed his face. "I didn't want to fire him." Magnus looked up from his nails in amazement. This was information he had not heard before. "He was a good friend to me. But he wasn't doing his job. This was at the time of _Sir Wayland's_ reign," he said with disguised disgust. "He made me fire him. He would've gotten my last job position had he done what he was supposed to."

Magnus whistled softly. "That explains the rivalry. What it doesn't explain is how he got his job at Tyson's."

"He has connections," Jace responded in a long sigh as he sat back in his chair. "He's always had connections. It was first his dad that got him to Tyson's. Then there were rumors that he was dating someone whose uncle or something was very important." Jace shrugs. "Who knows."

Magnus nodded. "That makes sense. So, did he actually start working when he entered Tyson's?"

"Yeah. He slowly became me." Magnus laughed at Jace's theatrics.

"No, boss," he said shaking his head. "He slowly became who you _used_ to be." Magnus winked and got up from his chair. "I'll come later to talk about some calls you need to make . . . Oh! And I also got you a number for a job agency because, really, I can only be your secretary for so long, boss."

w.^.w

"Start cleaning up, kiddos. The bell for lunch is going to ring soon." The kids started putting everything away and Clary felt like she could finally start to relax and maybe even think about _her _favorite boy at the moment.

Her phone started to vibrate on her desk and she started laughing as she saw it was none other than Jace. Checking real quick that the kids wouldn't mind her, she opened her phone.

"Jace," she said, but she noticed that it sounded out of breath and she wanted to slap herself to snap out of it.

"_Hey, babe,_" he said and Clary could almost picture him smirking to himself. The thought made her blush uncomfortably. She was about respond when she saw someone holding scissors when they hadn't even used them.

"Carlos! Where did you get that? Put them back in their box!"

"_Bad timing?_" he asked lightly. Clary's eyes widened as she remembered she was on the phone.

"No, no," she replied, looking at the clock on the wall. "They're about to go to lunch." Just then, the bell rand and the kids piled over to the door, trying to get out. Suddenly, the room was quiet. "See?" she laughed. "They're gone."

"_I heard_," he said with a light chuckle. Clary smiled down at her hands. "_Will I see you tonight?_"

Her smile widened. "I guess if I have nothing else to do . . ." she trailed off.

"_If everything goes as planned,_" he began, "_you will definitely be doing something tonight._"

"Sounds more like 'someone' to me, no?" she said as she laughed. She felt her face getting got at the thought of the last week they had spent together.

"_You may be right . . ._" They both laughed together. "_How's your day going, Clary?_"

_God, he knows how much I love it when he says my name like that._

Just as she was about to respond, Clary heard a voice—an angry female voice—from Jace's side of the phone. She also heard Jace cursing. "_Magnus, what's the commotion?_" Clary could hear Magnus's suave voice, but not exactly what he was saying. She heard Jace sigh. "_I'll call you back as soon as I can, okay?_"

The call disconnected before she had any chance to respond.

w.^.w

"_Who was that whore!?_"she yelled as she tried to get away from Magnus. Jace kept a straight face, trying very hard not to show his disgust for the inappropriate intrusion.

"No one that you might be interested in, Aline," he said as he slowly got up from his chair. "You could've at least attempted to knock before barging in."

"Stop treating me like one of your shitty clients, Jace!" Her face was getting redder as her temper flared, Jace noticed.

He ignored her comment and motioned for Magnus to let Aline go. "It's okay, Magnus. I'm glad Aline came. I've got something to give her." Magnus frowned but nodded nonetheless before retreating from the room. Aline took a minute to compose herself before she crossed the room and began tapping her feet anxiously, all the while, glaring at Jace.

"What did you want to give me? Because jewelry won't save your ass this time." Pursing her lips into a grimace, she raised an eyebrow at him. He never thought she had ever looked as unattractive as she did in that moment.

"No," he said shaking his head as he rummaged through the papers in his desk. "I doubt I'll ever give you jewelry again, Aline." He found the manila folder he was looking for and extended it to her across the table. "Here."

Her eyes wavered from him to the folder before she took it, one of her hands touching the pearls on her neck before she opened it and looked inside. Her newly white face began getting pink as she took in what the papers said.

"Divorce papers," she said, voice controlled. "These are divorce papers."

She flipped her long red nails through the papers until she reached the last one, containing his signature and a blank space for hers. She looked up at him, and instead of seeing anger, he saw nothing.

"You're serious about this." Jace nodded as she closed it and put it under her arm. Aline nodded as well and looked down at her feet. "Okay. Well," she paused and leveled Jace with a small smile, although it was a smile that Jace really didn't want. "Let's see how much you're willing to fight for this 'Clary' of yours, 'cause I'm not signing these papers any time soon."

She turned to go but Jace called her before she could go too far. "Aline, I hope you know that by negating me this, you're just wasting my time. You're wasting _your_ time."

Aline turned once more to look over Jace and cocked an eyebrow. "Jace, I'm twenty-four, hot, and smart. I've got _plenty _time to waste."

Right after she closed the door behind her, Jace went in search of Camille at her office. He found her on the phone, but Camille, after looking at his face, ended the call with her client quickly and was by Jace's side in a flash.

"What's going on, Jace? You look perplexed," she noticed with a frown. Jace snorted and looked at her.

"That's a great word to explain how I feel. I didn't know this feeling had a word," he commented lightly before sobering up again. "I gave Aline the papers right now. She came creating a riot. Magnus had to hold her back from scratching my face."

Camille held her hands up. "Wait, was the nail-scratching before or after you gave her the papers?"

"Before," he said. Camille opened her mouth to ask something but Jace knew what she was going to ask. "She heard me on the phone with Clary."

"Oh, okay then," she said nodding. "It makes sense now. But, why are you perplexed again?"

"She said she wasn't going to sign the papers. She also wanted to see how much I wanted Clary—but you see," he said quickly, "that doesn't even sound right anymore." Camille raised her eyebrow, waiting for an explanation. "Cam, I don't just _want _her. I _need _her." Looking over at his best friend, he saw her smiling, and that's when he knew what he had to do.

"I need to tell her that I'm married and that I'm getting a divorce. I can't live with this over my head anymore, Cam! It's eating me alive every time I'm with her," Jace exclaimed as his hands found his hair.

"Hey, hey, calm down. Let's think about this before you do something crazy, okay?" Camille let out a loud breath before continuing. "We've already discussed this and you said that there is a possibility that she will hate you for it. You have to know how to approach this. If not, you'll lose her forever."

Jace looked at Camille with tired eyes. "I need to tell her tonight. I can't make her live a lie. I'll never stop fighting for her, though. Never."

"Okay, then," she said nodding. "Just . . . be careful, Jace."

Later that evening, Jace found himself walking up to Clary's apartment, covering up his nerves perfectly with a smile. He wasn't completely sure how he was going to do it, but he had to. Because Clary deserved the real him, even if he didn't deserve her.

Clary materialized herself behind her door after he knocked twice, and she flung her arms around his neck and connected their lips in a kiss. Jace held her tightly, not wanting it to end at all, but needing to after a few seconds to catch their breath.

"Oh, hi," she said with a small grin.

"Hey," he chuckled at her lovingly, smoothing down her curly hair with one hand.

She kissed him softly once more before taking his hand and pulling him into her kitchen, where Jace found that it smelled heavenly.

"What's that smell?" he asked as he wound his arms around her waist from behind her where she stood in front of the stove.

"It's just spaghetti, chicken, and my mom's recipe of tomato sauce," she said as she stirred the aforementioned sauce.

Nuzzling his head on her neck, he peaked at the food. "The sauce isn't red."

Clary laughed. "No, but orange is a close enough color, right?"

"Mhhm," he hummed next to her ear and began kissing her neck slowly. Suddenly, Clary pushed him off her as she giggled.

"Get off, Blondie," she smiled teasingly as she pushed him towards the dining table.

"That's what I was trying to do," he remarks as he sits down and watched her work. He frowns as he remembers something. "Sorry that I didn't call you back later. One of my clients came quite . . . _angry_ . . . about something."

She smiled over at him. "No problem. I figured it was that. Magnus seemed aggravated by it." Laughing, she added, "You should really find a secretary soon. I can't imagine the hell Magnus goes through for you."

Jace forced a laugh for her, trying not to think about his talk with Camille after the _client_ left. "Yeah, he kind of quit after that. He's gone back to his original job and I'm, once again, secretary-less."

"Good for him," she snorted as she brought two plates with dinner. She went back and grabbed two beers from her fridge. He raised an eyebrow at her and she just shrugged it off with a smile, opening hers and sitting down next to him.

He opened his and took a swig before setting it down. They both went to eating as they smiled softly to each other.

"Clary, this is so _so_ good," he exclaimed with his mouth half full. "Best fucking tomato sauce in my life." She giggled helplessly as he kept eating.

They finished fast enough and moved to the couch where they sat and cuddled together as they got to know each other more. After Clary told Jace about how she fucked up a cake at one of her aunt's weddings, he remembered why he was there at all that evening, and his happy mood started disappearing. He took her hand and flipped it over and over in his hands. Clary giggled and kissed his cheek.

"What's bothering you, Jace?" He looked up at her with a frown, wondering how she would know something was wrong. She was smiling at him, pushing his hair back and scratching ever so slightly.

He sighed. It was better that he'd start now. "You know I love you, right?" he asked, trying to make her see that nothing had, or ever would, change. She cocked her head slightly before nodding. "Remember how I told you that I've been married before?" Clary frowned but nodded again, sitting up a bit straighter than before. "Well . . ."

He trailed off and looked at her. Looked at her full lips, her soft skin, the tiny freckles on her nose, her curly red hair fanned out around her, and her green eyes framed by full orange lashes. He felt his resolve falter at noticing how much he didn't want to lose this.

". . . I just want you to know that I don't see us ever ending like my last marriage did," he opted for saying, punching himself internally for being such a pussy and not just coming out with the truth.

"If everything goes as planned," she said, mocking his earlier words and taking his face in her hands, "that won't happen."

Jace sighed and closed his eyes. "Good. I don't want it to." He opened his eyes suddenly and looked at her with a smile. "How about you come with me to this fundraising event for my corporation? I don't want to go alone and what better company than having you there with me?"

"I'd love to," she said smiling before kissing him softly. Jace exhaled into her, sort of relieved.

_I'm going to hell,_ he thought as he kissed her again and again. _I'm definitely going to hell._

* * *

><p><em>Apologizing because again, it's almost been three months and I didn't update. This was due to writer's block and me starting school at a completely new school. It's just been so crazy and I'm sorry.<em>

_I probably won't be updating soon, but I hope I can. I usually write on backs of notebooks and then transfer so it's whenever I get free time, you see._

_Now, as you can see, it's kicking off and I'm thinking it's either going to be twenty chapters or a few more. So, yay? xD I don't know, I really love this story and you guys._

_I wanna thank all of the usual people I thank and all of you guys who reviewed! I tried to reply but sometimes FFn wouldn't let me so yeah xD_

_Okay, well, thanks for reading and I hope you can leave a…_

_Review? :)_


	15. Chapter Fourteen

***All the characters from The Mortal Instruments belong to Cassandra Clare and her incredible mind. Nothing will ever be owned by the author of this story. ;)***

_Musical Preference_**_:_**

_Stop Crying Your Heart Out- Oasis_

_Safe and Sound in Phone Lines- A Change of Pace_

_Sail- Awolnation_

_Fireworks- You Me At Six_

Enjoy :)

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Fourteen<span>

Looking over herself in the mirror, she scrunched up her face. There was something about the yellow color that didn't go with her at all. "Izzy?" she called from the dressing room.

"What's up, Clare?" she asked from right outside the door. Clary went out and showed her the dress with a frown. Isabelle remained stoic, but there was a flicker in her eyes that told Clary she didn't like the dress at all.

Isabelle turned around without a comment. "Let's get out of here. There's nothing worth looking at." Clary nodded and went inside the dressing room to change.

"I don't know how I don't have a cocktail dress after all this time," she muttered to herself.

"That's the same thing I was thinking. With your grandmother and her stupid events and all, you know," Isabelle called from outside. When Clary came out she found her looking at a really cute jacket. "Done? Okay, let's go," she said, leaving the jacket alone and moving towards the exit before Clary could even comprehend what was going on. Isabelle had been off all afternoon.

As they left the store, Clary noticed Isabelle's eyes lingering on a couple with a baby on arms. They were laughing as they chose cute outfits for their daughter. Clary pursed her lips in a smile as she looked at her friend.

"Okay, what's going on, Iz?" Distracted, Isabelle looked at Clary and raised an eyebrow. "I said what's going on? Is something wrong?"

Isabelle looked away before answering Clary with a firm, "No." She began walking faster and Clary started jogging to keep up with her. Grabbing her arm, she spun Isabelle around and gave her a look.

Looking towards the floor, Isabelle finally sighed. "Simon . . . he _did_ something and I'm just surprised." Clary frowned as Simon hadn't told her anything about it. "Hebroughtupmarriage." Gaping at Isabelle, Clary's eyes widened as she wasn't sure if she had heard correctly. Isabelle nodded, "Simon talked about getting married one day and . . . I got scared. I haven't really thought of what else we could be and he brought it up as if it were a given and . . . I don't know what to do."

After a moment of silence, Clary started walking again, trying to make sense of Isabelle's word vomit. "Well, you have been living together. The subject of tying the knot would've come up sooner or later."

"But isn't it too soon?" Isabelle asked with a worried expression. Clary had never seen her so troubled before. And over such small thing?

"Actually," she began, "I think it took him long enough. You've been dating since our high school junior year. That's almost ten years together. That's a huge commitment in and of itself. Marriage is nothing compared to that."

Isabelle tilted her head and looked at Clary in awe. "Woah, I hadn't seen it that way. Now I feel old," she said with a small smile. "You see, everything's just been so perfect from the beginning and I'm scared that, if we change how things are, it will break the spell that we're in."

Clary laughed. "Izzy? _It's not a spell._ Not at all. It's the real thing. You and Simon were made for each other. Nothing could ever break you two apart."

"Let's hope," Isabelle smile with more conviction. "Thank you for getting that out of me. I needed it. But, change of topic," she winked, "how good is he?"

Clary frowned at Isabelle until it dawned on her that they weren't talking about Simon anymore. She touched her heated cheeks as she shook her head.

"I don't ask about Simon, I don't tell about Jace, Izzy."

Rolling her eyes, Isabelle entered another dress shop. "You could've asked if you wanted to know. What they say about the quite and innocent having the best? So true. Simon is big, okay? He's huge—"

"Izzy!" Clary shrieked. "I really don't want to know about Simon." She shook her head and closed her eyes. "Oh, god. Ew."

Isabelle smirked. "Yeah, but now you know, so now tell."

Clary glared at her friend. "Fuck you."

"Simon does," replied Isabelle as she skipped towards a rack of dresses. As she looked at her hyper friend, Clary couldn't think of anything else than getting home and finally resting her feet. Isabelle was going to definitely leave her dead by the end of the day.

w.^.w

"_Clarissa Adele Morgenstern. You will call your grandmother at this moment and talk to her. She says that the last time you called her was on her birthday lunch!_" her mom scolded Clary.

Clary huffed in annoyance as she dug inside her closet. Switching the phone from one shoulder to the other, she resumed her search. "Mom, I'm getting for a banquet and you want me to call my grandmother?"

"_Yes,_" her mom responded without missing a beat.

"She's going to drag the conversation so long, though! And if I actually tell her I have a date she'll freak out on me and tell me to not get pregnant before marrying him because men are dicks." _Where is that dammed black purse when you need it?_

"_I don't care, Clary. This time it's your fault. If you would have called her at least once a week, this wouldn't be happening._"

Clary stopped her searching with a frown. Grabbing the phone, she stood up and looked at the mess in front of her. "Dad's right there, huh?" she asked her.

There was a slight pause. "_You can't delay this call, sweetie_."

"I knew it," Clary shook her head. "You're not usually this adamant about these things."

A sigh was heard from the other side. "_Just do it now. Get it over with._"

"Yeah, yeah," Clary nodded. "I'll call you back in a few. Bye, mom."

The call disconnected. She took a deep breath before dialing one of her least favorite numbers.

"_Amelia Morgenstern speaking,_" came the monotone voice from the phone. She closed her eyes tight.

"Hi, grandma. It's Clary," she said slowly, waiting for the hit.

"_My darling! I have not heard a word of you in so long. You have not visited. You have not written. Couldn't even email! One would think of you dead!_"

"Yes, I'm very sorry about that, grandma. I've been really busy lately and it just slipped my mind to check on everybody." With an eye roll, she went back to looking for her purse.

"_It's still no excuse for not calling your grandmother every once in a while,_" she replied sternly. "_Enough of that, tell me how you've been, darling!_"

_Kill me, _she thought to herself. _It will make this less painful._

"Grandmother, I'd love to do that more than anything, but I'm actually running out of time to get ready. I have a special event to attend this afternoon. I am looking for one of my clutches as I speak to you," she told Amelia, hoping that she would get the hint.

"_Oh! That sounds fantastic! Who are you going with? Simon? Isabelle?_" she asked.

Something about the way that Amelia had asked her that struck a nerve. Her voice had hinted to her being a loser, and more than that, a loser going to something with her friends. Not that it was bad or anything, but Clary hated being ridiculed for something so insignificant. Besides, she thought she had made it clear she was not up to small talk. She had to get ready for her fuck-hot boyfriend, and Amelia was taking her time away.

"No, grandma," she said, trying to not let her anger through. "I'm going with my boyfriend. He invited me to his corporation's fundraiser."

There was a slightly longer pause than before. "_Well, that's great, darling!_" she said. _Yeah, can you sound any more fake? _I thought bitterly."_Who's this boyfriend of yours and where does he work?_"

"He works at Wayland Corporate, grandma." Clary grinned as she delivered the next news. "He's the owner, Jace Wayland."

Clary smirked as she finally spotted the clutch and waited patiently for Amelia to compose herself enough to sound happy for her only granddaughter.

"_I am so very happy for you, darling,"_ she finally said. "_I think I'll let you finish getting ready! I hope you have fun!" _Clary tried not to laugh until she hung up, covering her mouth with her hand. "_You finally did something right._" The line went dead.

Stoic, Clary stared at the phone, a frown transforming her whole happy mood. Anger welled up inside her and she threw her phone across the room. "What—_what is that supposed to mean?!_" she screamed towards where her house phone laid on the floor.

_You finally did something right._

"What the hell is that even supposed to mean?!" Clary asked herself as she looked down at her clutch. Her eyes blurred as angry tears fell from them. She walked towards her phone again and dialed quickly.

"_Hello?_" her mom called from the other side of the line.

Wiping her tears and taking a deep breath, she answered. "I called her. She made me feel like crap. Thanks, mom. I'll leave you. I have to look pretty for tonight."

Pressing the end call button, she walked to the bathroom to wash her face. Looking at herself in the mirror, she glared. "Be strong for yourself. Forget her, Clary." With a deep breath, she went back to her room to get ready.

w.^.w

"I hate how formal these things tend to be," Jace said as he looked at himself in the mirror and fixed his tie.

"I love them! I can look fantastically hot in my tux on these days!" exclaimed Magnus as he fixed his hair. "Not to mention, I get to admire men like you in their tuxes all night long." Magnus made kissy faces at himself in the mirror and Jace tried not to roll his eyes. They were, after all, at Magnus's apartment. Magnus had suggested they all got dressed at his place and, since Jace had nothing else to do, he had agreed.

"In any other circumstances I would be there with you ogling," said Camille coming out from Magnus's room. "But I'm bringing my man with me today." From the mirror, Jace could see Camille's reflection. She was wearing a floor length yellow dress that left little to the imagination with a dropping neckline and an even lower back. He went back to fixing his blazer.

"Would you mind putting on some clothes? I'm pretty sure your 'boyfriend' would enjoy the rest of the men looking at you for the rest of the night," said Jace as he checked the time on his phone. Any time now, he should be heading out to pick up Clary.

Camille laughed at Jace's comment. "I don't know why my parents bothered with making me an only child. I still have an overbearing big brother." She came behind Jace and kissed his cheek. "To answer your question, he won't mind if his eyes stay on me all night." Jace glared at her reflection and she laughed some more.

"He's coming to pick you up here, right? I am going to meet him," he decided firmly.

Magnus sat on his sofa with a sigh. "Oh, dear . . ."

Camille's laughter had stopped as she looked at Jace. "That probably wouldn't be a good idea," she started. "But you'll more than likely meet later on tonight, so sure. Meet him now."

He turned around to look at her and not at her reflection. "Why wouldn't it be a good id—" Jace was cut off by the ringing of Magnus's doorbell. Camille walked towards the door and opened it.

Jace glanced at Magnus, who was looking at something on his phone, as he made his way to the door as well. He came up behind Camille and saw two men greeting Camille. He noticed it was Alec and a blonde man who looked fairly familiar. Stepping up, he extended his hand for Alec. They shook hands and greeted each other. Jace looked at the other man that was staring at Jace with contempt. Camille placed a hand on Jace's forearm.

"John, this is Jace Wayland. Jace, this is my boyfriend, Jonathan Morgenstern," she said as they extended their hands and shook. Then, it finally clicked.

"Wait, Morgenstern?" he asked looking at Camille and back at her boyfriend. "Like Clary?" And then he remembered the time at the auction when he had called Clary telling her their mom was asking for her.

Jonathan's eyebrow rose. "Yes. Clary's my sister and you're going out with her." Jace nodded and turned back to Camille.

"You didn't tell me you were going out with Clary's brother," he stated. Camille rolled her eyes.

"No, because you would've freaked on me and this way now you don't have a chance to because we're in public," she whispered to him and grinned. Jace closed his eyes for a second before smiling at Jonathan.

"Well, nice to meet you," he said and John nodded, but his eyes were still judging him. "Magnus, your date is here," Jace yelled back to the living room. Alec's cheeks reddened slightly as Magnus came into view.

"Well, hello there, handsome," he said as he kissed Alec's cheek. Alec shook his head with a small smile. "And hello, Jonathan. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I am Magnus."

Jonathan laughed. "I know who you are, Magnus, and it's nice to meet you, too," he said.

"Well," began Magnus, "come in. Except you, boss," he added pointing at Jace. "You need to go pick up our dear Clary. We'll see you at the hall." Jace agreed, and after saying bye to everyone, he made his way to Clary's apartment.

Without Magnus's and Camille's constant chattering, Jace was able to finally process not only the fact that his best friend was going out with his girlfriend's brother, but also a call he'd gotten from Aline earlier in the day. She had called to remind Jace that she wasn't going to sign the papers for nothing in the world.

Jace didn't understand why she wanted to remain in this marriage. If they got divorced, she would get half of everything that Jace had, and even though Jace didn't mind giving that away, it should've been enough for her anyway.

He shook his head as he parked outside Clary's building. In order for this night to be good he had to forget about his other problems. Act like they didn't exist.

As he walked up to the intercom, he couldn't help but remember the first time he had been here. He just never thought it would lead to the feelings he had for her now.

He pressed the buzzer with a secret smile. "Hey, Clary. It's Jace." There were a few seconds of silence before she answered.

"_Come up._" It was out of breath like the first time. She was probably running around her apartment looking for her last things before he got to the door. Shaking his head, he took the stairs two at a time, knowing perfectly well that it probably wasn't a good idea with his tux pants.

He paused in front of her door and listened at the sound of fast paced footsteps across wooden floor. There was a point were a _thump_ followed by a string curse. Without further ado, he knocked trying not to chuckle at his girl.

The bolts in the door unlocked before the door was thrown open. Jace looked up and his smile faltered.

Clary stood in front of him with wide eyes framed in dark eyeliner and gray-green eye shadow. Her hair was down, held back on the sides with black hair pins, displaying black teardrop earrings. A simple black necklace adorned her exposed chest leaving only her dress to see. It was a silver strapless number with a heart-shaped front, falling all the way to her feet. It hugged her curves suggestively, but just enough to make a man look and fantasize. Which was exactly what Jace was doing.

"Clary," he breathed out finally. She grinned at him and he noticed her lips were painted bright red.

"Hey, Jace," she said finally. He walked up to her and held her waist lightly as he planted a long kiss on her lips. She giggled as they broke apart.

"You look absolutely stunning," he said. "Did you get taller, or is it just me?" he asked her as he moved back to appraise her more.

She shook her head and lifted the hem of her dress exposing what looked like six-inch black heels. "Isabelle is torturing me with these tonight."

Shaking his head, he grabbed her again and pulled her against him. "Where can I thank her for her great work?" he asked Clary and she just shook her head with a smile.

Ignoring her question, he took him by the lapels of his jacket and pulled his down to her. "You look nice as well," she said as she looked at him from under her eyelashes.

Jace growled and pulled away from her. "We should get going because one more second in here with you looking like that and we'll never make it to the event."

"Fine," she said as she laughed. Pushing him out the door, she went back inside to get a black clutch and her apartment keys. She closed the door and down to his car they went.

w.^.w

Clary looked around at the big pillars, the high ceilings, the subtle beiges and whites making everything seem cleaner than it was. Clary appreciated that it looked nice, but it reminded her too much of the life she hated.

She looked up at Jace who held her close to him by her waist. He was smiling close-mouthed, content. Something about that made her forget about how the place looked and what it felt like for her because, here she was with this handsome man next to her that she loved and he loved her back.

Jace glanced at her and caught her still staring. He smirked down at her and squeezed her waist slightly. "Hey," he whispered to her. She grinned and retaliated, moving closer yet to him.

"Here," he said, is breath fanning her left ear. "Let's get some drinks." She nodded and they moved towards the bar. "What do you want?" he asked her as he turned to the waiter.

Clary thought but came up with nothing. "Just something light," she ended up telling him. With a nod, he ordered their drinks. She leaned against the bar and just admired Jace is his tux. He really was a sight to see. All broad shoulders and muscular arms and—

"You like the view, babe?" he asked cockily, not even looking at her as he received the drinks. She smiled, not even embarrassed that she had been caught staring. He passed her her drink and finally looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Very much so," she answered him honestly and sipped from the margarita that Jace had ordered for her.

He leaned against the counter as well and faced her. "I've got to say I'm enjoying my view as well." Her cheeks felt hot immediately. He leaned closer and teased her by kissing her cheek softly and slowly moving towards her mouth.

"Clary! Jace!" yelled someone from behind Clary making her jump slightly. Jace raised an eyebrow and looked behind her.

"Magnus," said Jace just loud enough for Clary to hear. She breathed out and turned around with a smile.

"Oh, Clary! You look gorgeous! Maybe even more than Pretty Boy!" he exclaimed as he engulfed her in a hug. He kissed her cheek and let her go. Behind Magnus, Alec was behind him and Clary moved around to hug him.

"Where you the one that started that nickname?" Clary heard Jace ask Magnus. "Seriously, Cams has been calling me that for weeks now." Clary turned around and giggled at Jace's anguish.

"Of course not, boss," Magnus said and turned to look at Clary with a small eye roll. "It was John." Clary's eyebrows furrowed as she tried to recall if she had ever met a John with Jace. She noticed that Jace glanced at her slightly when Magnus said John.

"Where are they, anyway?" Jace asked after a somewhat long pause.

Magnus turned and looked around before erupting in a smile. "There they are!" he exclaimed as he pointed somewhere behind Clary.

She turned around and saw Camille in a gorgeous yellow dress walking towards them, hand in hand with her brother, Jonathan—

Clary's eyes widened as she saw him looking at Camille with a stupid smile that she had only seen on him very few times in her life.

"My brother is going out with Camille?!" asked Clary. Magnus's eyes widened slightly before he frowned at the couple walking and then back at Clary.

"Your brother didn't tell _you_, either?" Magnus asked with some kind of amazement. "Wow, they really have to stop doing that."

"Clary!" exclaimed Camille. "How are—" she began but didn't get to finish because Clary went directly to Jonathan without even glancing at Camille.

Jonathan smiled at her. "Hey, sis—"

"Don't 'hey, sis' me. You're going out with Camille and didn't tell me?" she asked him exasperated. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"To be completely fair on this, you didn't tell me you were dating Pretty Boy either," he said, jerking his head towards Jace.

Clary rolled her eyes. "Because I knew you'd disapprove. But, John! You're dating Camille!" She broke out into a smile and hugged her brother. "I could never be mad with you about this!" She pulled away as Jonathan laughed and turned to hug Camille and greet her properly.

Alec shook his head as he sat on one of the stools next to Magnus. "I'll never understand the Morgensterns," he muttered to himself.

Clary took Jace's hand and pulled him next to her. "Something tells me that you two already know each other," she stated looking from her brother to her boyfriend.

Jace squeezed her hand and smiled. "Right before I went to pick you up," he confirmed.

"Interesting," Clary remarked. Camille laughed and started dragging Jonathan away.

"We'd love to stay and chat," she said. "But I think we're gonna go mingle. See you guys around!" She winked and Jonathan smiled before they went out of sight.

"Huh," began Magnus while picking up his drink. "So that's what they call it these days?" Clary and Alec laughed while Jace wrinkled his nose. Probably at the thought Camille having anything to do with those affairs.

He shook it off and smiled down at Clary. He glanced towards where couples were dancing. "Dance with me?" he asked her close to her ear. Clary nodded and he took her hand and led her away from the bar.

Jace pulled her close to him once they were in the middle of the dance floor. Clary wouldn't really call what they were doing "dancing," per se, but it still felt fantastic to be enveloped in his arms. He lowered is mouth to her ear slowly. Clary shivered as his breath hit her ear.

"If there weren't so many people here, only Lord knows what I'd do to you right now," he whispered heavily. Her cheeks warmed at his words and she tried to hide her face. "You just look incredible tonight. You shine compared to everyone else."

"Is that all it gets to make a woman fall for you?" she asked him quietly.

Jace seemed to consider her question. "I don't think I've ever used that before. Why?" he asked with a smirk. "Is it working?"

Clary snorted, forgetting how unladylike it was to do so. "I fell for you a long time ago, Jace," she told him, grabbing at him from the lapels of his jacket. She seemed to have found the best leverage for her. His hold on her tightened.

"You know how people from any corporation come to these things, right?" he asked her softly. Clary frowned at the sudden change of subject but nodded nonetheless. "Well, you're uncle just came in. I thought I'd be better if you knew now."

Clary sighed and didn't even look towards the entrance. She rested her forehead against his chest and closed her eyes. "Who's his companion?" she asked quietly, dreading the answer.

"Tall, blonde, more on the vulgar side," he sighed. Clary's hands squeezed his jacket tight.

"That son of a bitch," she cursed under her breath. "Whatever," she said after a few seconds. She lifted her head and looked at him with a smile. "Tonight I don't want to think about him. It's just you and me, okay?" He smiled and nodded. He then lowered his head to hers and kissed her sweetly, agonizingly slow. For some reason, it felt almost like an apology.

"I love you," he whispered after they broke apart.

She smiled. "I love you, too."

"Wayland! My man!" someone exclaimed from behind him. Clary saw a hand clap Jace's shoulder as he wheeled around to greet whoever it was that interrupted their dance. Once she saw who it was, she didn't think it was anything out of character for him to be so rude.

"Verlac," Jace said, his voice scarily monotone.

"How've you been? I knew I'd get to see your—" Sebastian stopped once he took a look at Clary. "Clarissa," he said, almost as if he knew that using her whole name would hit a nerve. Jace put an arm around her waist and pulled her to him.

She smiled, "Hello, Sebastian." He looked between the two of them, his smirk becoming more pronounced by the second.

"Well, look at that," he exclaimed. "Jace Wayland and Clarissa Morgenstern are fucking each other. Woah!"

Clary narrowed her eyes at him. "There's no reason to make a scene, Sebastian."

Sebastian acted like he hadn't heard Clary at all and turned to Jace. "Hey, Wayland, I left part of my sandwich at home. Do you want those leftovers, too?"

Jace moved in front of Clary and growled at Sebastian. "Don't talk about Clary like that."

Clary looked around and noticed some of the couples closing in to see what was going on. More than anything in the world, Clary wanted to slap Sebastian and be done with it.

Laughing, Sebastian looked at Jace. "Oh, how golden! I don't think you ever did something like that for your own wife! Could it be that Jace Wayland is actually in love?"

Jace sneered at Sebastian. "Verlac . . ."

"No, I don't think so," he continued, turning his stare to Clary. "What really surprises me, though, is that you are in love with a man that is exactly like the man that you hate the most. How _fucking _ironic!" His smile turned into a sneer then.

"What the hell are you talking about, Sebastian?" Clary growled at him, getting really tired of his little scene.

Sebastian looked at Clary mockingly. "Are you trying to tell me you don't know?" He snorted and looked up at Jace. "Jace, where is Aline?" Clary frowned up at Jace, who looked ready to strangle Sebastian.

"Sebastian, I think you should leave."

"No, thanks. This is really good," Sebastian laughed. "Where is your wife, Jace? You know," he paused, "the secretary that you fucked during your _other _marriage and then made your second wife?" Clary's frown deepened. _No, this can't be true . . ._

But it was. It was happening.

"As far as everybody knows, you haven't divorced Aline. You're cheating on Aline with Clary, Wayland? Of course, this is so fucking typical that no one bothers with it anymore," he said, looking at the people gathered around them. "For fuck's sake! The reason that you didn't have a secretary for the longest time is because you fired your last because she was such a _lame fuck._"

Sebastian's head snapped to the side all of the sudden. Clary then noticed that her hand was burning. He clutched his cheek in one hand as he frowned at Clary. She glared, realizing she had slapped him. "I believe you're done here, Sebastian."

There was an indefinite silence where Sebastian just stared at Clary open-mouthed. He then nodded and exited the dance floor.

The people around them began dispersing, going back to their dancing, but not without a few glances their way. Probably waiting for another scene.

Clary breathed in deeply before she turned to look at Jace. His gold eyes were dark, a storm of emotions as he looked at her. She frowned and touched her forehead. The adrenaline rush was making her dizzy.

"Jace, I know we just got here, but do you think we could go back to your place? I'm feeling a little sick." Jace nodded and motioned for her to lead the way. She walked towards the door and out into the street. They waited in silence as the valet brought Jace's car. Once they got in, Jace sped to his house. The whole ride was spent in silence.

There wasn't really anything that could be said at that point.

w.^.w

At some point they made it Jace's house. His mind was going in so many circles that he wasn't thinking straight. There were only key phrases that kept coming, sort of like Alerts.

_You're gonna lose her._

_She knows now._

_It doesn't matter._

_You're gonna lose her._

As he got out of his car and rounded it to open the door for Clary, he noticed that she had gotten out by herself and was already walking to the door of the building. Jace had never felt so desperate to want to change something. This time, though, he knew that there was nothing he could do to make things right again.

He opened the door for her and she walked in without a word. He felt himself losing hope as more time passed.

She walked in and kicked her shoes off before making her way to the couch. Jace stood where he was. For some reason, he didn't think it would be a good idea to sit next to her.

They remained like that for one of the longest moments of Jace's life. It probably wasn't that long, but Jace's anguish made him believe it was.

Finally, Clary broke the silence. "How much of what Sebastian said is true?" she asked as she stared at the black tv screen to the right of her. She looked tired and defeated. Jace's heart broke as he realised he had done that to her.

"Almost all of it," he said softly. Clary nodded.

"Almost all of it," she repeated. "So you have a wife."

"Yes."

"You're married to her as we speak."

"Yes."

"Yet, you were cheating on her with me."

Jace wanted to explain how he had asked her for the divorce even before they had anything to do, but something told him that Clary was not up for hearing excuses. "I guess," he said finally.

Clary sniffed and Jace thought he saw a tear trace its way down her cheek. "You guess." She nodded. "So what?" She finally looked at him, but her eyes were bloodshot, filled with unshed tears. "Did I live up to your expectations?" Jace frowned, not understand where she was going with this. She stood up and made her way to him slowly. "Was I a good lay? Was I here for shits and giggles? Fuck, if I knew I was sleeping with you for these reasons I would've charged you my prostitute fee!" she screamed at him.

His eyes widened in disbelief. "Clary, you were never—oh, baby—"

Her eyes cut through him as tears fell from them. "Don't call me 'baby'! Don't you ever dare call me that again." She blinked and wiped her cheeks. "I'm not your 'baby,' and I will never be again!" Her voice cracked as a sob escaped her mouth. Jace couldn't resist just standing there and looking at her breakdown in front of him. It was killing him inside.

"Clary-"

"You know what hurts the most?" she interrupted him. "The fact that you knew about Luke. You knew how much I fucking hated him. You knew. I just . . . I thought you cared for me more than to make fun of me like that." She took a deep breath and she grabbed her hair pins and three them to the floor, freeing her hair. She ran her hands through it before pulling hard. "I loved you, Jace," she said, finally breaking down and shoving herself at him and slapping him square in the face.

Jace felt the hit, but it was nothing compared to what he was feeling inside. His vision was starting to get blurry, and only then did he realize he was about to lose his shit as well.

"I thought you were different, dammit!" she yelled at Jace. "I fucking loved you!" Jace felt hits in his chest and noticed she was punching him, but he was so numb inside he wasn't processing the hits anymore. He took it, because he knew he deserved that and more.

"I—"

Punch.

"—fucking—"

Punch, punch.

"—loved you!"

Punch, punch, punch.

She kept punching yelling curses and other thoughts that just didn't make sense to him. Jace blinked and a few tears broke through the haze. He couldn't take what he had done to her. There were no words that could explain the way he thought of himself at that moment.

She backed away slowly and grabbed her shoes and purse. "I knew you were trouble," she cursed. To herself or to him, he would never know. "I should've listened . . ." she trailed off as she left his apartment. The only sound that of her sobs.

In any other circumstance, it would've seemed logical to go after her. But Jace didn't deserve her at all.

Once he couldn't hear her cries anymore, he slipped to the floor and cried.

* * *

><p><em>Ouch. <em>

_I apologize for the delay. School, blah blah, theatre, blah blah. It's all just conspiring against me and that's fine with me. Thanksgiving gift for everybody, eh? :D_

_I want to express my apologies to an anonymous reviewer and to those of Asian culture that were offended by a comment on Sebastian's ethnicity from the last chapter. The comment was not meant to insult anyone but to purely show the magnitude of his actions. Upon request, I have deleted the comment. I'm deeply sorry if you were offended by it as well. It was not the intention._

_Thanks to the usual girls 'cause I love them and it's all for shits and giggles. _

_Without further ado, I leave you to eat your delicious turkey as I will be doing. :D So please, would you mind leaving a..._

_Review? :)_


	16. Chapter Fifteen

***All the characters from The Mortal Instruments belong to Cassandra Clare and her incredible mind. Nothing will ever be owned by the author of this story. ;)***

_Musical Preferences:_

_Plain Gold Ring- Kimbra_

_Danny, Dakota, and the Wishing Well- A Silent Film_

* * *

><p><em><em>Once he couldn't hear her cries anymore, he slipped to the floor and cried.<em>_

Chapter Fifteen

The night was dark, no moon visible. The streets were dangerous at a night like this, but Clary couldn't force herself to take a cab in fear she wouldn't be able to stand ten minutes locked in the little yellow box. She was going mental as it was just walking the streets. Her house was closer by the second, and that's all she could think of. Needing to get out of the goddamn dress and clean the soles of her feet from the dirt she was accumulating, she started speed-walking.

The farther from him she could get, the better.

"This is so unfair," she muttered to herself. Her hair was fisted on the hand not holding her heels. The tears had stopped ten minutes after she had left his apartment. Now she was just a mess full of disappointment, confusion, and anger.

Funny thing was, the closer she got to her bed, the more she was filled with anger.

One minute she was walking across unknown neighborhoods, the next she was fitting her key in her doorknob and flinging the door to her apartment open. She was counting on getting herself in some sweats and opening that vodka bottle she had gotten two years ago when she first got this apartment, but her friends had the perfect timing for ruining her plans with Mr. Hangover.

Leaning against the doorframe of her apartment, she saw them—Isabelle in clubbing attire, Simon in normal jeans and shirt, Magnus and Alec, and Camille and Jonathan. They all stood up as they saw her, the same worried expressions in all of their faces. Those were the perfect moments where the ability for raising just one eyebrow would've been a godsent gift.

Sniffing, she threw her shoes to the other side of her living room. "Leaving, guys?"

The first to respond was Isabelle, stalking forward to her. Clary frowned and moved out of the way before Isabelle could get an arm around her. "Clary, I know this sucks but—"

Clary snorted and looked at her best friend like if she was stupid. "What sucks is that he missed out on some fuck-tastic sex tonight." She could hear her brother and Simon groaning, but she really couldn't find it in herself to apologize. "Now, I'd appreciate if you all left so I can drink myself happy and wake up just to go back to bed."

Isabelle rolled her eyes and grabbed onto Clary's forearms before she could make her way to the kitchen. "As much as I love this sassy Clary, I know that you are hurting and I need to know what happened after you both left. They don't know shit," Isabelle said as she pointed back at the crowd of adults.

Clary rolled her eyes back at Isabelle and got out of her hold. "I want to get drunk!" she exclaimed. "I don't ever, _ever_ get drunk and the day I want to, you won't fucking let me. It hasn't been thirty minutes since I cried my fucking eyes out and you want me to do it again." She glared at her best friend and then at everyone else watching the exchange before returning her attention to Isabelle. "Thanks for the concern, but no thanks."

She could see the surprise in her friends' faces as she walked past them to her room. Locking the door behind her, she striped out of the now gray dress and put on the largest and coziest sweats that she owned. Once she went out, she saw that more than half of her friends had gotten the message. Isabelle, stubborn as always, was sitting on the table and Simon on one of the chairs next to her. Clary tried hard not to roll her eyes as she passed them on her way to the kitchen.

The vodka bottle was under the sink, unopened and perfect in Clary's eyes. She took the bottle opener and, expecting her best friends to be behind her, she turned around and gave Simon the bottle and opener. With one look to Isabelle, he opened it and gave it back to Clary who had already gathered three glasses. She poured a considerable amount of liquor on them and passed one to each of them before taking the bottle and her glass and making her way to her couch.

"If you're staying, you're drinking with me. No buts," she said as she left the kitchen. Surprisingly, Simon was the first to plop himself next to her and drink out of his glass.

"Ah, Fray. I knew we'd always go back to this," he said with a terrible accent that didn't even have distinction.

She punched his arm softly with a snort. "We have never drank together."

"I'm trying to bond with you. Shut up," he tells her as Isabelle nearly stomps over until she stands in front of them with her hands on her hips.

"You two are being childish and this is not how Clary should be handling this situation." Clary almost laughed because this may be the first time that Isabelle was ever against drinking.

Simon sat up and put his glass on the coffee table in front of them. "You may be right, Iz, but this is how she wants to handle it. Let her. She'll come to us sooner or later and tell us what happened. But right now," he paused as he settled back and wrapped an arm around Clary as she finished her drink, "she wants to get drunk. And, I say, why the hell not?"

Isabelle glared at him for a while, but he didn't take back any of his words and that made Clary so happy that she poured herself more vodka and cuddled against Simon. Isabelle seemed to give up after a while, going back for her glass and sitting on Clary's other side.

"This is the last time I try to be the adult," she said as she threw her glass back.

w.^.w

"How can I get her to sign the papers without taking this to court?"

"_Bribe her? I really can't help you. What did you do with Kaelie?_" Jace's lawyer asked from the other side of the phone call.

"I let her keep the house," Jace muttered as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I just think that Aline won't settle for having the apartment. She was always stubborn and wants to destroy me for this."

There was a tense silence between the two men. "_Well, bribe with more? Ask her what she wants. Usually what they want is not the most you can give them._"

Jace glanced at the clock at his table. 8:56. People should start pouring in anytime soon. "Yeah, yeah, okay. I gotta go, Hodge. The day is starting."

"_Good luck, Jace,_" and the line went dead. With a sigh, Jace let his head fall to his hands and pressed the palm of his hands to his eyes. He couldn't find sleep at all the night before, so at around five in the morning, he managed to get to his office and keep busy. Avoiding the subject that was causing him insomnia was better than facing it.

He knew Camille and Magnus would come any time now to break him down. They had grown fond of Clary, thought she was the one. Hell, Jace _knew_ she could be the one, but the circumstances were just always against him when it came to Clary.

He was just grateful he got the amount of time he got with her at all.

As expected, Camille came in with a sour look on her face. She locked the door behind her and Jace sort of breathed a sigh of relief. At least Magnus wouldn't join on the scolding.

Camille didn't get to it immediately, which surprised Jace slightly. She paced from one side of the office to the other, her arms crossed in front of her, and her severe bun sharpening her face.

"How was your night, Jace?" she finally started, and her voice was icy. Jace had heard this tone a billion times, but this time, it actually cut through him.

"I think you know the answer to that question," he said softly. He lowered his eyes and finally felt the exhaustion sinking in.

Camille snorted. "No. I know how Clary spent her night, I'm wondering if you did the same."

"If she cried all night, then yes. We did the same thing." Jace closed his eyes and laid back. It hadn't been five minutes into the conversation and he wanted it to be over.

Jace looked up after the silence between them had lasted quite a while. Camille was staring at him with a frown and troubled eyes, sort of like that wasn't the answer she was expecting. She stared at him for a while and Jace just stared back before she turned around and sat on one of the chairs in front of him. "Really?" she asked him softly. Jace nodded and looked at the clock again. 9:03.

"I've been here four hours. I couldn't sleep," he tells her quietly before running a hand down his face.

"She went home and got drunk," Camille tells Jace incredulously. Jace frowns at Camille before chuckling.

"Well, that's unusual," he tries to say with a small smile, but he can feel his throat closing up and _oh no, not again._

"You really fucked up, Jace," she says almost smugly. Like and _I told you so_ and Jace is not really up to that shit.

Glaring, he scoffs. "No-fucking-duh, Cam. I think I know how much I fucked up. I'm the one that lost her, remember? I'm getting those fucking divorce papers signed and becoming a fucking priest if that makes you fucking happy."

"Wait, hold up," she says while standing up. "You're not going to fight for her?"

Jace shakes his head and looks up at Camille with confusion. "Of course not. She would never take me back. She told me so herself. She said, or at least implied, that she would never forgive an infidelity. And I am not what she deserves," he says, his voice catching at the end and he really doesn't want to cry more. It's a blow to his manliness and even though Camille has seen him cry before, it's usually her that makes him cry.

"Shit," Camille mutters while walking to Jace's side and sitting on his arm rest. She wraps her arms around him almost hesitantly like she doesn't know what to do. And that's enough for some tears to fall from his eyes as he buries his head in her neck. He feels her hands on his hair, just combing through the strands and he's suddenly very happy that Camille came in to scold him.

They don't really notice the jiggling of the doorknob until the person walks in. Jace refuses to let go of Camille as he doesn't want whoever it is to see he was crying. But when he hears Camille say "Aline, what are you doing here?" he has to separate himself from her.

He rubs his face multiple times before standing up to address Aline. Behind her, Magnus frowns at him, as if he really doesn't understand what's going on. Aline has a similar expression on her face.

"Yes?" he asks Aline. She recoils slightly, like she doesn't know him, and maybe she just doesn't know _this_ Jace. He's pretty sure he doesn't know himself either.

"I-um, I wanted to talk to you Jace. But—I just remembered that I have t—um—" she stumbles on her words as she looks at Camille and Magnus behind her before looking at Jace again.

"Actually, Aline, could you stay? I want to talk to you, too." Aline hesitates a bit before nodding. Camille touches Jace's arm and looks at him questioningly. Jace just nods and smiles at is pushed out the door by Camille, who just smiles encouragingly at Jace.

Aline is still standing near the door. Jace smiles at her as he sits down.

"Take a seat, please." She sits and Jace looks at his clock. 9:24. He looks back at Aline. "How are you?"

w.^.w

"Yes, Mr. Campbell? Hi, it's Clary Morgenstern. I was wondering if you were free today to substitute? Yes? Yeah, a friend of my family died and today's the funeral. Oh, it's okay. Anyways, thank you and on my desk should be a folder with what I was planning on having the kids do today. Thank you again. Bye."

"Funeral?" Isabelle asked from her side where she was still half asleep.

"Not a lie," Clary started and cuddled closer to the couch trying to go back to sleep. Simon groaned as he was moved from his somewhat comfortable position. "I need time to mourn the death of my heart."

"Touché."

"I'll start quoting W. H. Auden. 'I thought that love would last forever; I was wrong,'" Clary continued.

Simon put his hand on her face. "How about you shut up."

w.^.w

It was long and tedious, but before noon, Jace had the divorce papers signed. Aline stayed and heard what had happened. He hadn't been expecting complete understanding, but he managed to keep the conversation light, without any heavy arguments. There had been no yelling from either of them. It had been like an awful business meeting revolving feelings.

Jace felt little feminine and he didn't necessary like it.

When she got up to leave, Jace accompanied her out and hugged her, thanking her over and over again and then apologizing for hurting him. She'd smiled at his words, but it wasn't a necessarily happy smile. It was a resigned, maybe even a tad bit relieved. Jace was just sorry he couldn't treat her correctly.

Looking at the time, he figured he should go eat something. And probably tell Camille how everything with Aline went. He was actually surprised she hadn't barged in right after Aline had left. With a frown, he left his office and started walking to Camille's office. The door was closed, which was unusual. For her, at least. There were multiple voices that stopped as he knocked tentatively and started opening the door without waiting for an answer. He was surprised to find not only Camille but Jonathan looking at him as he walked in.

He almost wished he hadn't come in at all.

They both looked furious and not only at themselves, but also in him. They were both glaring at Jace and before Jace could even move, Jonathan landed a punch to Jace's jaw. He stumbled as he felt the hit but he didn't really hurt. It was more numbed than anything and Jace felt that he deserved it. Jace could just imagine what he would do a guy like him if he was dating his sister. He's just surprised Jonathan stopped after the first punch.

"Get an ice bag and some Benadryl," Jonathan said in a clipped tone. "You may be an asshole, but I'm still a doctor over that." Jace looked as he looked at Camille and back at Jace. "Goodbye, Cammy." And he left the room, bumping his shoulder with Jace as he went.

The door closed behind him and Camille growled and slammed her hand on her desk. Jace frowned and looked at her only to find her glaring at him with more venom that before.

"Why is it that you always ruin everything?!" she yelled. Jace rubbed his jaw and tried to ask her what had just happened, but she continued without letting him talk. "I was happy! And because I always stick by your side, everything ends up hurting _me_ too!" She sat on her chair and put her head on her hands. "I had finally found someone who made me happy and who I made happy," she said in a small voice. "And _you_ ruined it."

"Cam, I—" he started but she just shook her head and raised it up from where it was in her hands.

"Jace, don't. Just . . . don't." Her eyes were rimmed red. Ready to cry. "Could you leave? I really . . . I just want to be alone."

Jace nodded and exited and went directly back to his office, ignoring those calling for him until he heard Magnus. He turned around and made eye contact with him.

Magnus was frowning and there was a question in his eyes. Jace just shook his head and went inside his office. There was nothing else to say.

* * *

><p><em>Where to freaking start? Well, school sucks, guys. I'm sorry about how late it is (and how short!) but this just leads to the next part which I'm actually quite excited to write because it's kinda a new idea...? You can thank Camille for it because while she read a part of this she sort of... yeah. <em>

_Anyways, I'm hoping I don't take as long as I did with this next time but AP tests are coming up and I'm finishing this year and it's just been really stressful but thank you for sticking around if you still have. :)_

_I wanna thank all of you for still reading and reviewing and know that I love you all very very much. _

_It'd be fantastic if you guys could..._

_Review? _


	17. Chapter Sixteen

***All the characters from The Mortal Instruments belong to Cassandra Clare and her incredible mind. Nothing will ever be owned by the author of this story. ;)***

_Musical Preference:_

_Warrior- Mark Foster, Kimbra, A-Trak_

_Bite My Tongue- You Me At Six (feat. Oli Sykes)_

_Tightrope- Walk the Moon_

*time has passed* (the beginning is like sooo reflective to this poem that made me cry at the beginning of the year. I'm sorry)

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Sixteen<span>

Jace had completely forgotten to close the curtains correctly the night before and it was a bright morning. The sunlight was bleeding through his eyelids but he didn't want to get up. Besides, her arm was around him and he liked it that way. It was comforting and he didn't want to wake up.

He opened his eyes and looked towards the intruder in their room. The sun was more than happy to come inside and break them out of their slumber. He unhooked himself from her slowly, admiring the expanse of her fair skin. He closed the blinds so the sun would not wake her, and then walked to the bathroom to take a quick shower. They both had to go to work.

Turning the water knobs, he got in and washed himself out. He went to work on his hair and slowly went down from there.

"Jace?" he heard when he was halfway done. He peaked from the curtain and saw her against the threshold of the bathroom, her mused hair falling down her shoulders and her sleepy eyes closing heavily.

He smiled and opened the curtain. "Wanna join me?" Instead of answering, she took his shirt off and walked in with him. Jace let her be beneath the water spray and took some shampoo into his hand. He motioned for her to turn around, and when she did he started washing her hair.

After a few seconds of comfortable silence, she turned around and spoke up. "Jace?" He hummed in answer. "Have you ever thought that this was weird?"

Jace looked at her green eyes openly. She was one of the only people with who he could truly be himself. "To be honest," he paused, starting to wash the shampoo off her hair. "It is weird. But it's us as well, Cam."

She smiled and closed her eyes, letting him finish washing out her hair.

"I'm happy," she said.

He smiled. "I'm happy, too."

w.^.w

"You'll be fine. If you need anything text us and we'll get you out," Simon reminded Clary.

"Yeah, I'm hoping I don't need to be saved," Clary murmured as she looked outside the window. "It's Amatis's engagement party. I like to believe that once upon a time we were friends due to the unnoticeable age difference."

"She's still your aunt and it's weird," Simon remarked. Clary snorted softly. Amatis was four years older than Clary, but by the time she'd turned sixteen, she began acting like what she was; her aunt. "I just can't believe she's marrying The Hulk," Clary heard Isabelle say.

"Tell Izzy that nobody can believe it," she said as the cab pulled up at the usual restaurant. "Okay, I gotta hang up. I'm here."

"Good luck," Simon said while Isabelle yelled, "Don't kill your grandma!" on the background. Clary hung up with a small smile on her face. She paid the cab driver and went inside the restaurant, hoping that the morning would pass quickly enough.

She was immediately escorted to the secluded part of the restaurant, as per usual. Making a mental note to reduce her eye rolls by seventy percent at least, she entered and smiled at her whole family. She saw her brother first, thankfully, and he almost looked relieved to see her. It was obvious that these kind of things would always manage to take them back to when he was ten and she just two years younger than him.

Cheers erupted when she was finally spotted. They always did this. One person would come and it became a mini party inside the party of the person's arrival. It became tedious after a while.

The first to come was Maia, who could move faster without that baby bump in front of her. "Clary! How are you? You look so good! I'm so glad to see you!"

Clary smiled softly at her and gave her a hug before she went around the table hugging and kissing her uncles' and aunts' cheeks. At the end was Amelia. She smiled, sickly sweet, and folded Clary into a hug. When she pulled away, she looked Clary up and down before nodding and letting her go. Clary wanted to stop and think about that, but Amatis was right behind her mother and it was time to celebrate the correct person.

"Congratulations, Amatis!" she exclaimed genuinely, giving her a strong hug. "I'm so happy for you." Amatis thanked her and then Clary moved to hug Jake, The Hulk, and the lucky guy that was marrying her aunt. Before she could go sit at Jonathan's side, Amatis grabbed her hand and pulled her quickly to her side.

"How are you? Are you okay?" she asked with concern on her eyes. Clary frowned and nodded, not sure where this was going. Amatis looked wary but let her go. John looked confused as she made her way to him. Clary shrugged as she pulled the chair out and sat down.

"What was that about? You and Amatis best friends now?" he asked. Looking incredulous, Clary shook her head.

"I have no idea what that was. I haven't talked to Amatis without Amelia at least fifty feet away." John nodded. "Where's mom and dad, anyway?" she asked, realizing that their parents were missing.

John shrugged and looked towards the door. "I don't know . . . stuck in traffic?"

She frowned. "That's not like them, though." John shrugged and Clary looked at him. It had been maybe three to four months since everything had blown up. As much as Camille had been part of the whole thing, she had made her brother happy and she hated that it was her fault that Jonathan wasn't happy. "How're you doing?" she asked him softly, and when Jonathan's dark eyes met hers, there was understanding about what she was actually asking. Jonathan sighed and smiled sadly.

"I'm holding up, right?" he said and nudged her. "You?"

Clary grinned, but it was almost pretend. "Better than ever."

Jonathan smirked at her. "Uh, huh. Sure."

Everything was going well until the food came. Usually this was the peak of this type of luncheon. Something stupid and controversial would be said at the beginning that would end up causing some tension between everybody but nobody would leave because they had to eat.

Valentine and Jocelyn still hadn't showed up, and Clary figured that if they didn't come by the end of the conflicts, they wouldn't be coming at all.

w.^.w

"But Magnus answered the call before me," Camille said as she drank her coffee. "I couldn't do anything about what happened later."

"I really can't blame Magnus. We were bound to lose them as clients," Jace said as he too took a sip from his coffee.

"That's what I told Magnus," Camille said with a small laugh. "He felt so bad and—" she trailed off as she looked over Jace's shoulder. Jace frowned and looked behind him. Jonathan was walking through the door of the restaurant and escorted to the private part of the restaurant. Jace knew what that meant.

"Family reunion," Camille said, basically reading his thoughts. "Clary shouldn't be far behind."

Jace sighed and turned back to Camille. Her green eyes that were sparkling just seconds before were now sad. The mention of Clary was a direct blow if he was being completely honest.

A few minutes later, Camille made a gesture for Jace to look behind him and when he did he saw her. Clary was crossing the restaurant as she was escorted to the same room that Jonathan had been taken to. It wasn't too far from where they were sitting, and they could hear that there was some kind of celebration going on.

"You miss him, don't you?" Jace asked quietly as he turned to her. Camille returned her eyes to his and he could see the guilt that was pooling in them.

"I never lie to you, why would I start now?" she asked rhetorically. "Yes. I really do."

Jace sighed and set his coffee down. "This is all my fault. You shouldn't be with me. You should be with him."

Camille smiled sadly. "And you should be with her. But you've been so stubborn."

"What are you talking about?" he asked with a frown.

"I'm talking about how I told you to fight for her, but it's been almost four months and instead you went and found comfort in me. And no—" Camille stopped Jace's objections, "there was nothing wrong with it because I did the same."

"But I do love you, Cams," Jace told her softly. She covered his hand with hers.

"And I love you, but our love is not the romantic kind of love. It felt like it but, I hate to say this but, I never felt what I felt with John with you. It almost felt like there was something missing."

Jace stared at her for the longest time and he had to admit that what he had with Camille had never been quite like what he had had with Clary. Sometimes when he stared too long at Camille's eyes, he could pretend like he was looking at Clary, and he always felt like a piece of shit after that.

"So now we're gonna wait for them to come out," he said with a small grin.

Camille laughed. "It was a pleasure being your girlfriend, Jace Wayland." Jace gave her a full on grin.

"Likewise, Camille Belcourt."

w.^.w

Without further ado, Amelia began talking, but it was normal conversation. Clary met Jonathan's eyes as they patiently waited for the bomb to drop. They wondered to whom it would be directed, but they'd never expected for them to be the targets.

"So, Clary," Amelia began after talking about her new dog to one of their cousins. Clary raised her eyes to her so she would see she was paying attention. "When are you bringing that boyfriend of yours so we can meet him?"

Clary felt her hand tighten around her fork, and her jaw clenched. She smiled before putting her fork doing and sitting correctly. "I'll bring him when I get one good enough for me, grandma."

Amelia's eyes sparkled and it only made Clary sick. Weren't they supposed to be family? This is not how a family works.

"But what about that young boy you were telling me about a few months ago . . . ? That CEO from that company . . ." she kept trailing off, trying to make Clary break. The rest of their family had started to become quieter by the second, not knowing what would happen.

"It didn't work out," she said, trying not to show how much this was upsetting her. It had been a while, but it still hurt. She couldn't say that she didn't love him anymore, but she was slowly getting over him. This was just like rubbing salt onto the wound.

"It seems like you can't make anything work lately," she commented offhandedly. Clary let her fork drop and clank loudly onto the table and pushed her chair back loudly. Jonathan put a hand on her forearm that prevented her from standing up. Clary looked at the rest of her family looking at her, not sure what to expect from her sudden outburst.

Clary leveled her grandmother with a cold look. "I don't know how you want me to take a comment like that."

Amelia put her hands together on top of the table. "I want you to take it for what it is." She smiled. "The truth."

Jonathan let her forearm go and that was all the incentive Clary needed. She stood up from her chair and leaned over the table so Amelia could see her. "I won't let you speak to me like that. You may be my grandmother, but that still doesn't give you the right to disrespect me."

"Clary, Clary, Clary, darling. Don't take it like that. It's a little bit of constructive criticism."

Clary waited. Waited for an apology or for a sarcastic comment on how she was lying. But nothing came. Everybody had stopped eating by then, waiting for one to back down or actually get into a fight.

"No," Clary said in a hard tone. She was done with dealing with Amelia's shit. "That is not constructive criticism. Want to give me constructive criticism? Tell me what type of guy to stop going for. Tell me what are definite signs that a guy is not good enough for you. But telling me that I cannot make things work is plain criticism. There is nothing constructive about a fucking comment like that."

"Clarissa! I will not let you use that type of language in my presence!" she scolded, appalled for a moment that Clary would be using words like that.

"Then I will not let you bully me in front of everyone here. You've told me that type of stupid comments all my life. But I am done. You do not get to talk to me the way you do. I am done feeling like shit after you talk to me because you always make me feel like I'm a piece of trash! You tell me I'm not good enough, that I don't do anything right. And even when you tell me something nice, you say it with so much poison that I can't take you seriously."

Amelia was sitting very still in her chair. Everybody was, but she looked the most tense. Her eyes were glaring at Clary, almost accusing her for embarrassing her in front of the whole family.

"Clarissa, sit back down and be quiet," she ordered. Clary raised her eyebrows. She turned to Jonathan to make sure she had heard correctly. Jonathan's eyebrows were furrowed and he almost looked confused at the sudden change.

"No," she said as she stood up straighter and crossed her arms. Amelia's eyes narrowed further.

"Sit," she ordered as she slowly stood from her chair. Clary almost found it comical how she actually expected Clary to follow her orders.

"No," she repeated, firmer. "I have never really respected you enough and I don't think I'll start now. So, no."

Amelia looked like she was fuming. Her eyes were darker than usual as she tucked her chair under the table. "You wouldn't be acting like this if your parents were here," she said in an angry tone.

"_You_ wouldn't be acting like this if my parents were here," Clary retorted. "You need as many people as you can get on your side, but it's obvious that you never needed me. You always thought I was this little lap dog, but that was only because I was raised to treat my elders with respect. But I was also taught to never let anyone step on me. I let you for my whole life because you are my grandmother," she continued, angrily grabbing her stuff. She could see from her periphery that Jonathan was ready to leave the happy celebrations with her.

"I'm not going to listen to you anymore," Clary said dismissively as she adjusted her purse on her shoulder. "And I don't expect you to listen to me, so goodbye, Amelia." Clary spun on her heel and started walking. She felt Jonathan hot at her heels. As they passed Amatis, Clary touched her shoulder and mumbled an apology, but Amatis seemed to understand their sudden departure. Clary just wanted out.

Once they were out of the secluded area, Jonathan pulled her close to his side. "Damn," he said. "That was fucking amazing!"

Clary snorted at him and walked faster, wanting to get out of the restaurant as soon as possible.

"No, but seriously!" Jonathan continued as she hadn't answered him. "That was fantastic! I've been wanting to do that my whole life. I can bet that everyone in that room has fantasized of doing what you just did. Just . . . wow."

"Shut up, John," she said as she felt her cheeks redden. She felt lighter, like she had gotten rid of the most troublesome part of her life. That wasn't probably true, but it was very close.

As they left the restaurant, their parents were barely entering. They all stopped and just kind of assessed each other. Finally, Valentine spoke up.

"So, the party's over?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's over for us," Jonathan said with a laugh. Clary rolled her eyes at her brother and then noticed her mom looking at her confused.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you two can go in. It's probably really tense in there. Maybe John could also go on in, but that'd be awkward. All I know is that I am not welcome," Clary said.

Both Valentine's and Jocelyn's eyebrows rose at that and Jonathan hurried to explain. "Grandma said something really mean to Clary and Clary just defended herself. That's all that happened."

"Clary," her dad began, reprimanding.

"Dad, please. You would be on my side if you would've heard her," Clary said softly. Her dad smiled a bit and shrugged.

"Well, I guess we better go then?" he said, beginning to turn back to go to her car when Jocelyn grabbed his arm.

"Yes, we should go but . . ." she trailed off as she glanced behind Clary and Jonathan. Clary frowned and looked behind her. Almost immediately she wanted to turn back but her mother would just make her say hello out of respect. Jonathan turned around with her and sucked in a breath. _What a day,_ Clary thought sarcastically.

Jace and Camille stood in front of them looking as surprised as they felt. He looked as good as always. His blonde hair was everywhere, but good everywhere. He was wearing a nice button-down with the sleeves rolled up, nice black dress pants. His forearms were flexing as he kept opening and closing his hand and Clary remembered that the best nights she had had were with him.

But when Clary made eye contact with Jace, she saw that his gold eyes were shining but still broken as they looked at her. Clary could almost bet that her eyes looked the same to him. It wasn't making matters better.

"Hey," Camille finally broke the silence. Clary looked at her but she was looking at Jonathan the same way that Clary was probably looking at Jace. Clary hated it. She wanted to hate Jace, she wanted to hate him so badly, but there was something about his eyes that made her stop before shouting at him.

"Hi," Clary said to Jace mostly. His eyes almost reflected the battle he was having with himself. He scratched the back of his neck before meeting her eyes again. His eyes changed, almost like determination, as he turned to Camille. She looked at him and nodded with a small smile. Jace smiled before he turned back to Clary.

"You think we could talk?"

* * *

><p><em>HEY GUYS! I updated before TAKS week. Look at that. I think it has been a long time since I updated fast. I feel good.<em>

_It's kinda short again but like, it was fast, right? I'd like to think I'm making up for my terrible updating skills. _

_I am just saying that you guys shouldn't expect an update soon. We're getting close to AP tests and yeeeeeah. Lots of studying for moi. I just hope this made you guys happy because hearing from all of you again was great. Thank you for keeping up with Black Ace still. I love all of you to bits._

_I guess this is sorta to celebrate my birthday of last week and also that I have a laptop (hehehe I'm floating high) but yeah thank Camille for this wonderful chapter. She's dying of pain and still awake to read it. She's a fighter. (except not really)_

_Thanks guys and I really hope you guys can..._

_Review?_


	18. Chapter Seventeen

***All the characters from The Mortal Instruments belong to Cassandra Clare and her incredible mind. Nothing will ever be owned by the author of this story. ;)***

_Musical Preference:_

_Left Hand Free- alt-J_

_The Love Club- Lorde_

_Trojans- Atlas Genius_

_Yellow- Coldplay_

I hope you guys like it because I'm so so so sorry for everything enjoy

* * *

><p>The dress was beautiful.<p>

It was a delicate off-white covered in lace and embroidered material that gathered around the hips, accentuating them. The sensible heart-shaped front dropped low on the back, waist high. The skirt billowed with a reasonably sized train.

She looked like a princess. Absolutely stunning.

"That's the one," she said.

Isabelle turned around, her hair contrasting brightly with the dress as she gathered the skirts and looked at herself on every single mirror in every single angle. "I know."

Simon had finally asked her to be his wife officially, supposedly on a rainy morning, and Isabelle had jumped up and down and freaked out about it, immediately breaking out in conversation about what colors they were going to use (shades of blue and purple,) who the best man was going to be (Alec,) and the bridesmaid (Clary,) and if they would serve fish, steak, or chicken (steak,) and what they would dance to (The Way You Look Tonight.)

Not being religious, Isabelle told Simon that she'd convert to Judaism for him. (That won over Mrs. Lewis, who was against the marriage at the beginning.)

Simon, as Isabelle told, was as calm as one could be. Clary hadn't told Isabelle that he'd called her that night and basically fangirled to her about the engagement. It was adorable if they'd asked her. Simon didn't think so, though, so she had to keep the phone call to herself.

_ How's dress shopping? And tell Isabelle I love her. –Simon_

"Clary, I think you should wear the rosy-magenta-purple-ish dress. The rest should be the blues," Isabelle said absentmindedly, still staring at herself inspecting the dress that she'd wear in roughly two months. They'd been looking for dresses for months and had been hoping they'd finally find the dress today.

She looked up from her phone rolling her eyes. "Sure, that's a nice color. And Si says he loves you." Clary could feel more than see the hearts on Isabelle's eyes.

"Tell him to stop being a dork and let the girls shop," she said trying to sound annoyed. "But that I love him too all the same." Isabelle's smile was radiant and Clary almost envied her for how happy she was, but if she did, it never lasted long because it was Isabelle, and if anyone deserved to be happy, it was her.

_There's a lot of dresses. And she says she loves you too. Stop clogging up my phone with all this love eugh. –Clary_

"How's everything? Do you need to see another dress¾oh," the attendant, Lucy, who had been helping them all along stopped as she looked at Isabelle in the dress. "Please tell me that's the one," she almost whispered.

Isabelle laughed as she looked at herself, flatting her hands against her sides. "This is the one."

Almost squealing, Lucy skipped over to check the hem of the dress or whatever that dress attendants were supposed to do. And while all that was interesting and stuff, Clary couldn't take her eyes away from Isabelle's radiance. Her life was falling into place just like pieces of a puzzle, and she showed it through her bright eyes and smile. It was a bit opposite to Clary's. She just really didn't know what she was expecting to happen in her life any more than she knew what she was going to eat for breakfast the next morning.

Half an hour later of more squealing and happiness and sunshine from Lucy, Isabelle and Clary were leaving the shop with a nice buzz from the champagne that they were given while Isabelle signed the payment of her dress. For the first time in the three hours they were in there, Clary began thinking that of conspiracy theories as to why they would give clients champagne.

"It's to make the client vulnerable and more prone to buying a dress," Isabelle answered her question over lunch at the small plaza close to her and Simon's apartment.

"Then you played right into their game," Clary almost asked as she took a bite of her sandwich. Isabelle shook her head, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

"No, because I found the dress I wanted. It's for brides that are indecisive so they just let their money loose." That made sense as Isabelle was everything but indecisive. She knew what she wanted in her life and maybe that was one of the things that Clary envied of her.

"Anyways," Isabelle went on, breaking Clary's thought process, "how has it been?"

It was an innocent enough question, but Clary knew exactly what Isabelle wanted to know. "Oh, we're doing just fine. Matt is such a nice guy and we get along alright. Everything is just fine." Isabelle rolled her eyes and put her sandwich down. Her elbows rested on the table as she leaned closer trying to intimidate Clary, but nope. Not this time.

It wouldn't happen.

"Clary, you and I both know that is not what I want to know. I've heard a billion times about how nice and sweet Matty darling is, but to be honest, I know that it is not what you want. What's going on with Jace?"

Or it would.

"I don't know what to do," she sighed finally, sitting back and letting her sandwich lie forgotten on the table. Isabelle kept staring, just waiting for Clary to explain herself. "I don't trust him. I can't trust him. How am I supposed to be with someone whom I don't trust?"

"Well, that's a problem," was all Isabelle said as she went back to eating.

Clary stared at her in confusion. "That's it? I know it's a problem."

"I don't know what you want me to tell you, Clary. I don't have the answers to all your problems and probably never will. All I can tell you is that you will never find someone that fits you quite as well as Jace did." And that was the end to that conversation.

Later that night, Clary couldn't stop thinking of what Isabelle had told her. She knew that Jace was perfect for her, but it didn't change the fact that he cheated on her. Or cheated with her, which wasn't any better.

It was going against everything she believed in if she just forgave him. Just like she couldn't forgive her uncle for his gross acts, she couldn't forgive Jace just because she still loved him. He had done exactly what her uncle had done his whole life and just that thought made Clary want to throw up.

It was hard. Clary fought with herself day and night just thinking about what Jace had done to her and comparing it to his actions. Everyone did say that "actions speak louder than words," but a man capable of cheating was a man capable of deceiving therefore capable of using his actions to achieve the ultimate goal; to get some ass.

More often than not, Clary found herself thinking back on how she used to be, back when she still trusted easily. It had been a rough transition, but she was getting better at it ever since her incident with Jace.

They've both realized the strong connection they had couldn't just be ignored and come to the mutual agreement that they would try for a friendship. Clary wasn't sure they could be anything else because that would go against everything she ever believed in, and she wasn't about ready to also betray herself.

"It's just difficult, okay?" Clary sighed, "In the circumstances at the moment, it's not gonna happen."

Isabelle stared at Clary hard for a few seconds before going back to her food. "You always do that."

"What is that?" Clary asked, getting slightly offensive without meaning to.

"You find excuses to not do what you really want to," the other rolled her eyes. "He made _one_ mistake, Clary. Yeah, it may have been a huge mistake but he has been making it up. I, in no way, support what he did but . . ." she trailed off, waving her hand before looking back down to her food.

She stared at Isabelle for a bit, processing what she had said. "Wait," she asked quickly. "How has he been making it up?"

Isabelle frowned at her. "Seriously? He's been slowly becoming your friend trying to make you happy and if you add his recent visits to our apartment—"

"He's been going over to yours?" Clary asked, surprised.

"Yeah, you weren't supposed to know but whatever," she rolled her eyes, "Jace has been coming over to talk to Simon about anything to be honest, but mostly about you and ways that he could make it up to you." She sighed, "Clary, he's really trying and I know you can't forgive what he did but, have you ever stopped to think about what if he is truly the one for you and you guys met in the worst possible timing?"

Clary had to admit that she'd had that thought before but never actually entertained it for too much. She hadn't thought, though, about there ever being any timing issues, always believing that the right man had to come in at the right time and in the right ways. To her, it had felt that way, but it had turned out to be a lie. It had made her question everything in life, including herself and her ability to perceive bad things around her, which she had always been good at.

"Could that really be possible?" she asked her best friend with a frown.

The other shrugged. "I stopped questioning possibility and probability back in third grade."

"Wow," Clary rolled her eyes with a smile. "How clever."

Isabelle smirked slowly. "I know."

w.^.w

"Stop that. Can't you ever just pay attention to me?" Jace pouted mockingly while Simon shook his head with a smile before pocketing his phone.

They were at a small coffee shop just a few blocks away from Simon's apartment. They had started coming here at least twice a week. They were coming so much that the barista knew their orders. Jace had to admit that he never expected Simon to ever treat him regularly after what went down, but after Jace kept coming to him for advice there was no way they weren't going to develop their friendship again. Jace even dared to say that they were closer now than before.

"I do pay attention to you. More than I should," he laughed. "I just had to check on my future wife. You know, see if she hasn't changed her mind."

It was Jace's turn to roll his eyes. "You're kidding, right? You have the relationship I envy."

"Wow," Simon looked shocked as he sat up. "That's a weird thing to envy. You want to spend a billion dollars on one day just to be legally bound to one person for the rest of your life?"

The playful conversation turned very serious with the question. "That's exactly what I want." He started running his hand through his hair. "But if that ever happens I doubt it will be with the one person I want."

"You don't know that," Simon answered leaning forward. "Being completely honest, when you came for advice I thought that even with the best advice that only I could give you could never get Clary back, but you have the right intentions and although what you did was stupid as fuck, you and Clary are made for each other."

Jace smiled sadly. "I appreciate that but saying it won't change a thing unless Clary can ever forgive me for the pain I caused her."

"But you guys are sort of starting over aren't you? As friends?"

"Yes, but it's difficult because she is obviously extremely wary around me and she doesn't joke around anymore and it all seems forced but I still feel the same pull that I used to before. As much as I'd like to leave her life so she can find someone who will treat her the way I didn't, I can't. I'm too selfish."

Simon took his glasses off and started cleaning them with his shirt, sitting back in his chair. "Let me tell you one thing; if Clary really wanted you out of her life, you wouldn't even be talking to me right now. I know my friend. She feels either as or even more conflicted than you."

"Okay, sure. And what about the guy she's dating? Mart? Memphis?" he asked rolling his eyes.

"Matt. I don't think it's going too well. I sort of asked Clary about it and she sorta shrugged and said 'eh,' so—Memphis?" Simon asked incredulously. "Really?"

Jace shrugged. "I knew it was with an M." He frowned. "But, really? Not good?"

"Nah, man. You probably ruined everyone for her," Simon said and they both chuckled.

"It gives me some kind of sick satisfaction hearing that." Jace smiled.

"You're disgusting but I'm rooting for you guys getting your shit together so I can stop hearing all your sob stories."

Jace laughed. "It's great how you think my sob stories will miraculously end if I get back together with Clary. I haven't even told you all my daddy issues!"

"I'm hoping that _when_ you two get together you'll have Clary to hear all your wonderful childhood stories." Simon said emphasizing the _when._ It had become a little exercise to make Jace more positive towards any kind of relationship with Clary in the future.

He nodded. "Our friendship won't end _when _I get back with Clary. I'll still need advice on how not to fuck it up."

Rolling his eyes, Simon replied through a sigh. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

w.^.w

Between the planning of the wedding and the original stress of life, the two months remaining for the wedding were over and Clary found herself in the same room as a very nervous groom who couldn't seem to stop pacing.

"Will you stop that? I don't even know why you're so worried. Isabelle loves the crap out of you. It would be crazy if she were to back out right now!" she said trying to grab her best friend.

"Wow, that makes me feel better. Like, lots," Simon replied rolling his eyes before sitting down on an arm chair. "It's just, this is it, you know?"

"It's not like anything is going to change. It's still just Isabelle and you, except now you guys will carry rings on your fingers, right?" she told him rationally.

The door opened next to where Clary was sitting before Simon could reply. Jace walked in fast and directly towards Simon, seemingly missing that Clary was in the room. Their friendship was still in progress but that didn't impede Clary from admiring how good Jace looked in his navy suit. _It's probably custom-made,_ she thought dreamily.

He kneeled next to Simon's chair. "Hey, we doing alright? You're not freaking out too much?"

After Clary found out about Simon and Jace talking, she found it weird but had never actually seen them hanging out together. Seeing Jace helping Simon, basically doing _her_ job made her heart start doing flips for some reason._ No, not just some reason,_ she told herself. _You've been growing fond of him and this isn't helping._

"No, I'm freaking out a hell of a lot. Did Isabelle send you?" Simon asked him, not making Clary's presence known after she made lots of gestures for him to keep quiet.

"Yeah, she knew that you might be losing it. But, dude," Jace continued, "it's okay. She loves you a hell of a lot, and you love her too. Just think about how happy you'll be when you're finally married to the girl of your dreams. You'll see her in a few and you'll know everything will be alright. Just like it should be."

Simon laughed. "Is that what you told yourself the last two times?" And _ouch._ It may have happened almost a year ago but the reminder of Jace's marriages still hurt.

She could see Jace's shoulders tense before relaxing quickly. "Ha-ha. Hilarious." He stood up and clasped Simon's shoulder. "But no, I didn't. I think that subconsciously I knew that they weren't the one. Or I found out when I first fell for Clary."

Clary gasped unintentionally, standing up once Jace spun around finally realizing she'd been there all along. She finally got a good look at him. The way his pants hugged his waist, how the lapels pressed down into his chest and his gold tie brought out the brighter parts of his eyes, and how his hair was styled perfectly and looked in between _just woke up_ and _I sorta tried_.

"Well, I should go check on Isabelle," Clary finally said edging closer to the door. "She must need me. I'll see you guys . . . out . . . there?" and ran out of the room. Once she had turned the corner she stopped to process hearing that Jace thought she was the one? Was that really what he meant or was she only reading more into what was really there.

"Isabelle, I need to tell—" she started walking into the room, stopping once she got a look at her. "Woah, dude, you look so beautiful." She was wearing her dress but now her hair was up in an elaborate bun and her makeup was helping her eyes pop out. If that wasn't enough, her smile was radiant. She was ready and Simon was extremely lucky to be marrying her.

"Oh, thank you, you don't look too bad yourself" she winked before looking back at herself in the mirror. "Can you help me get the veil on?" she asked holding out the item.

"Yeah, here, sit," she commanded and proceeded to carefully putting it on. Clary didn't want to mess up her hair. "There you go. Now you're more than ready."

Isabelle laughed. "I really think I am. What were you going to tell me?"

Clary looked at Isabelle through the mirror and shook her head. "It's not important right now. Come on, let's get you a husband."

w.^.w

Once they were getting ready to walk down the aisle, Clary forgot how Isabelle had thought it would be funny to make Jace and Clary a couple since he'd become such a good friend of Simon's and was therefore the Best Man. Her and Jace were first, then Magnus and Alec, and the rest of the couples. Isabelle had also thought it'd be hilarious to make Alec stand on her side next to the rest of the bridesmaids. Alec had tried to object but after a while decided he really didn't care.

All of that meant that Jace would be coming soon to stand next to her and she was hoping she wouldn't accidentally make things awkward as she usually does.

She was wringing her hands together waiting when she _felt_ more than noticed his presence.

"I didn't get to tell you how beautiful you look earlier," he said quietly close to her ear. She finally looked at him and almost regretted it since he was staring at her intensely.

"Thank you," she said. "You don't look so bad yourself." He smirked and looked forward, finally breaking eye contact. "I forget you have to wear that hat on your head."

"It was part of the deal," he muttered and it made Clary sigh a small laugh. Looking at him sideways she saw him smiling down at her. She made herself not look and just smiled.

Suddenly the music started and it was only seconds before they had to start walking. "I wasn't lying," he rushed out.

"What?" she frowned at him.

He looked at her, his face suddenly very serious. "In Simon's room." They started walking and he broke eye contact. "About how you are the only one for me." He looked back at her, "I wasn't lying."

Clary tried to formulate a response while they walked but her brain was going 200mph and she was confused and _happy_ and nervous and _elated_ and scared.

Before she could even respond, they had reached the altar and had to go separate ways.

The wedding was cute, intimate, and full of tears and both the bride and groom had stars in their eyes as they looked at each other. Clary should've counted the seconds they weren't looking at each other. She guessed maybe sixteen.

Almost too soon it was over and Isabelle and Simon were kissing for the first time as husband and wife. She had been avoiding looking at Jace through all the ceremony, but she looked at him then only to find him staring at her already. There was warmth in his gaze and Clary was almost feeling embarrassed for the blubbering mess that she was. Weddings tended to make her emotional.

They started walking down the aisle again, Jace by her side but this time silent while everyone around clapped at the couple in front of them.

w.^.w

The reception was something out of a dream with blue hues illuminating the room. Everything was just right. There weren't too many or not enough decorations. It showed the amount of thought that Isabelle put into the event. Everyone was chatting while they waited for the entrance to begin.

They were finally announced and they walked to the middle of the dance floor, hand in hand and waited for the music to begin. They both had decided to scratch their previous plan of playing "The Way You Look Tonight" and went for "Linger" by The Cranberries after they watched _Click_ again. They could've danced to whatever as long as they stared at each other the way they had been the whole day.

The music started and everyone was staring at them and celebrating their love. Jace found the whole thing adorable as fuck, but he wasn't about to start crying. He spotted Clary a few ways away from him with tears in her eyes as she watched her best friends, madly in love, sharing their first dance.

She looked beautiful in her strapless purple dress that flowed around her as she walked and hugged her waist. It reminded him of the first time he saw her at the art gallery in the dark purple dress. Her hair was half up and she looked radiant and happy and Jace was _so_ completely in love with her.

Everyone started applauding around him and he realized Isabelle and Simon were done dancing and the party was finally starting. He took a seat and just watched as everyone either took to the dance floor or to congratulate the newlyweds.

"Isn't it kinda gross?" he heard from beside him as Clary took a seat. She was looking at Isabelle and Simon.

Jace stared at her with contempt and a small smile. "I don't think you believe that, I've seen you in the verge of tears at least five times."

"Those were obviously for a different reason," she informed him.

"Really? Enlighten me," he replied, watching her squirm as she looked for an answer.

"It's a secret," she finally said and then frowned. "I'm sorry I think my mom is waving at me." She stood up and looked back at Jace. "See you later, Blondie.

"Bye, Ginger," he replied and watched her flash him a grin before leaving.

Just a few seconds later someone sat at the other side of him while he kept staring at Clary. "Here's what I think," Isabelle began as she started changing her high heels to some flats. "I think that you should ask Clary to dance, hold her close, and just cut to the chase. You two are obviously flirting with each other and it's obvious you both want the same thing, but you're both so stubborn and it's never going to get better unless you take the chance, yeah?"

"You've been married for three hours and you're already bossing everyone around," he told her with a smile.

She laughed and stood up, "I've always bossed everyone around, this is not new." She leaned on him to fix her dress, "so? What are you waiting for?" Squeezing his shoulder, she smiled and left to go find Simon. Jace stood up and went to find Clary because if he didn't obey Isabelle she would come back at least a tad bit pissed off.

Jace found her at the bar getting a drink. He put a hand on the small of her back and got close to her ear, "can I have this dance?"

She turned quickly, nodding and downing her drink once she saw who it was. He took a leap and grabbed her hand once she started following him. He was expecting her to take it out or to yell at him, but she just squeezed his hand in return.

It wasn't planned of anything, but as they got to the dance floor a slow song started. Jace shrugged at Clary pulled her close. She was looking up at him with narrowed eyes.

"You paid the DJ," she accused.

"I'm hurt! How could you say that?" he answered sarcastically.

She rolled her eyes with a smile. "Whatever, I'll pretend you didn't plan this."

"Clary, being completely serious, I didn't. This is just a sign," he said staring into her eyes.

"A sign that we should be together, you mean?" she asked, suddenly getting very serious.

He pulled her closer to him, resting his forehead on hers, and closed his eyes, trying to not lose her now, now that he had come so close. "I'm not going to tell you that _yes_, we should be together because I know I hurt you. I know that what I did was fucked up and immoral and after all that you deserve something better.

"But I am selfish, Clary. I do want you to myself. And although I don't deserve it, here I am begging you to take me back while this Coldplay song is playing and I have you in my arms. You know why? Because I love you. I love every part of you, Clary. I even love the parts that hate me and I hope that, even with those parts, you can love me back," he finished and opened his eyes.

Clary was already staring at him with tears streaming down her face. Her hands that had been on her shoulders moved slowly to his neck and to his jaw, where she caressed him slowly. "Jace, I've been battling with myself over this for months because it goes against everything I believe in to go back to you, but I can't deny myself the feelings I have when I'm with you, or the way your touch makes me feel things that I didn't even know were possible. And I love you, Jace. I love you so much."

That was all Jace needed before he closed the centimeters between them and kissed her. It was tender and loving but at the same time there was an underlying intensity reminding them that it'd been too long since they'd touched each other that way. Jace pulled apart quick before they got carried away because as much as he wanted Clary, he didn't want to mess it up.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly and Clary frowned.

"For?"

"I realized I never apologized for what happened. I never just said sorry. I'm just sorry for everything and I want to promise you that I will do anything to keep me from hurting you like that again." He felt it was necessary. She had the right to back out any time she wanted, but he was hoping that if that was the case, that at least she'd do it right now.

Clary smiled and kissed him slowly. "I believe you. And I love you."

Jace grinned back, feeling lighter and better than he had in a while. "I love you, too."

* * *

><p><em>Alright so that was that, basically.<em>

_I just want to apologize so profusely for like the year and a half of waiting. I cannot believe I didn't finish this story in all that time. Well an update on my life; I'm obviously very much alive, I finished high school, I'm going to college, blah blah blah. I'm going into computer science engineering so that should be fun, right? _

_I love all of you so very much because if you're reading this it means that you waiting for me this whole time and i cannot thank you enough or ask for better readers and I most definitely do not deserve you. You guys are all just so amazing._

_Lots of you emailed me asking me for an update and I didn't answer because I was just so ashamed that I couldn't respond back so I'm very sorry about that. _

_Last, but not least, you can thank one of my bffs Camille for this chapter as she basically asked me to finish this by her birthday which I still failed because that was like almost a month ago. Anyways, here it is Cams. Happy Birthday to you! She should be up any time now for school._

_Alright, guys. This was most definitely a journey and this is the end. I'm not sure about an epilogue but I don't know if you guys want it I guess I could try and give it to you guys. Hopefully before next summer lol._

_Although I totally don't deserve it, I'm still hoping you can_

_Review?_


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